#why would you give humans a further reason to align themselves with hell??

[viriborne]

Still can’t believe Michael had the GALL to say the only reason we’re still alive is that he still cares about his brothers’ happiness and if we fuck up he’s gonna kill us like okay bitch kill me then. Ur shit is gonna get rocked the instant your brothers find out lmaoo they don’t even fucking like you as is!!!!! Killing us is instant war with the Devildom AND the Human realm like are you stupid???

[spuukinightmares]

As a fellow werewolf lover THE WEREWOLF MONDO AU HELP???!!! I would love to know more about it honestly 😼 (pulls out a small notepad and pen) WereMondo lore drop plz

Mondo Owada Werewolf AU Lore

Okay so. First of all. This is my very first Tumblr ask and it made me so so happy I genuinely almost started crying HJDNJSNCS I’m !! So glad that you’ve taken interest in my werewolf mondo AU that means so much 2 me uwaaa 💕💕/p

That being said, I actually don’t have much lore? Whenever I think abt this AU I always have a bunch of ideas spinning around in my head, and just about all of them are contradictory. There’s just so many possibilities to explore with the idea of Mondo being a werewolf, yk?? I don’t really have anything super planned out or set in stone, but I can go over the main ideas that I like the most in terms of how being a werewolf in general would work and how things could affect Mondo + his peers in particular !!

Also some of this stuff might contradict what I said in my headcanons post bc like I said I’m still sort of in the brainstorming phase of this AU where not a lot is set in stone/subject to further changes. Just be aware !!

Werewolf transformations are painful as hell, and de-transformations aren’t much better. The entire body is basically getting squished, stretched and reformed, and there’s a bone cracking and muscle popping too throughout the whole process. Not only is it agonizing, but it’s really uncomfortable! It wouldn’t be unusual for someone to be grunting/groaning in pain, but Mondo is the type of person who would try to tough it out silently I feel. He wants to be able to hold onto some of his dignity, so he’d deliberately try not to make a lot of noise, especially if he knows someone is watching. He can’t help but let a few cusses slip though, and when he’s sure he’s in an isolated place where no one will hear him, he’ll be doing a lot more cursing and doing it a lot more loudly.

I like to think of werewolfism(?) as a curse that acts as retribution. It manifests in those who already have a hidden side to themselves that they force down, typically affecting people who present as being very strict and rigid, not offering themselves a lot of freedom or leisure. It’s like a punishment for never allowing themselves to release their pent up frustrations, and now they’re cursed to do exactly that every time the moon casts its light unto them. There are exceptions to this, of course. I like to think that a werewolf’s behaviour is dependant on what part their human self refuses to let out, and most wolves tend to act violent and feral for this reason.

In Mondo’s case, he can already be considered pretty aggressive. The side that he doesn’t like to let out is his softer, weaker side. Therefore, his wolf would probably act more like a puppy, if I’m being honest. Way more affectionate, albeit still incredibly scary looking. Imagine a large beast closing in, sniffing their way up to you and you expect them to just start tearing you apart for food… and then it starts headbutting you like a cat. Don’t be totally fooled though, even though he’s a lot more submissive in this form, doesn’t mean he’d let you get away with hurting those he cares about.

Despite being pretty pleasant as a wolf, Mondo is still highly concerned about being transformed. Why? Because he has little to no idea what he’s like in that state. Most werewolves can only remember bits and pieces from when they were transformed, everything else is just a blur. He only knows that he’s a werewolf, and based on what little knowledge he has on that subject, he just assumes that he’s out there wreaking an insane amount of havoc on anyone he sees. It doesn’t help that every time he wakes up after a de-transformation, he has this inexplicable feeling of guilt that hangs over him.

I do think it’d still be really interesting to give him some monstrous moments that align more with his assumptions though. Perhaps these moments could be the ones that Mondo recalls the most clearly, being that it’d technically be when he’s in the “most control” because it stems from his aggression outside of his werewolf form. It’d likely add to his fear that he does worse to people while he’s transformed, being some of the only things he can remember.

I know I mentioned the idea of some of the Crazy Diamonds + Daiya being werewolves, but honestly? I think I kinda like the idea of Mondo being confused and alone a lot more. First of all it has angst potential and I slurp that shit up like a thirsty butterfly on a sunflower, second of all I think it would be more interesting for Mondo’s development if this was something like an over-arching story. Characters could slowly realize the secret he’s been hiding, and Mondo can gain people to confide in overtime. Also Daiya is still dead, so he can’t turn to him either, unless you count venting to his grave.

Furthermore, I think Mondo’s werewolfism would be rather recent. His curse would be attained likely by the time he took his first step into Hope’s Peak. In his final free time event in the game, he compared to accepting the invitation to the academy as running away from his fear of losing the gang/moving on to the future, and I think this would be the final nail in the coffin that awakens the werewolf curse within him, forcing him to face the fear he tried to turn away from. Imagine his confusion during the first full moon at Hope’s Peak where he starts transforming into a beast out of nowhere.

Nobody but himself knows that he’s a werewolf, however I do think it would be interesting if the students and staff (the staff would probably try to keep it on the down low to not alarm their students or harm their reputation but let’s be honest at least a few of them gotta know) of the academy knew that there’s at least a wolf among them. They’d likely find this out based on evidence that’s left behind (claw marks, camera footage, attacked victims, etc.), which when found in the morning it leaves Mondo wondering, “did I do that?”

What was supposed to be an opportunity for students to guarantee their perfect future quickly turns into a real life game of werewolf where everyone is panicked trying to figure out who it is before someone can get seriously hurt.

Here’s one of the funny parts though: there’s actually more than one werewolf! Most of the stuff that’s left behind in the morning from the werewolf rampage doesn’t actually come from Mondo. Not many people realize there’s more than one, but it’d probably dawn on them as the AU’s story progresses. Can you guess who else is a wolf? :] (the other wolf/wolves aren’t set in stone either but you should guess anyway)

Although they’re rare, most people in this AU know about werewolves (just not 100% how they work), and the government would certainly take measures to fight against the threat of the cursed — either by hunting them down to kill them, locking them up, attempting to tame them, or desperately researching a cure which may or may not involve needing to experiment on werewolves. Basically, none of the outcomes will be pleasant for Mondo if he gets found out.

Unfortunately, plenty of people suspect him right off the bat due to his stereotypical behaviour, but since that evidence is flimsy at best, he isn’t really pursued for it. Kyoko is the MVP for both Mondo and the other students, as not only is she the leading detective on the case and does most of the investigating/deducing, but she also defends Mondo against the unfounded accusations towards him. That’s not to say she herself doesn’t still suspect him, she just doesn’t want anyone to jump to conclusions before any real proof is found. That’d only cause more problems than solutions.

Allow me to talk about how some of the other characters would come into play for a bit! Kyoko & Celeste might be some of Mondo’s biggest obstacles when it comes to keeping this secret. Kyoko for obvious reasons, and Celeste because she can so easily tell when he or literally anyone else is lying. Kiyotaka would very likely be accusatory towards Mondo at first, but after they become friends, he’d be Mondo’s greatest ally, defending him vehemently no matter how concrete any evidence against him might be. Fukawa is the most accusatory out of everyone by far, and she and Yasuhiro are both incredibly paranoid about the whole thing.

I think the way they’d verify who is and isn’t a werewolf is by locking someone inside a fortified room somewhere within the academy for observation during the full moon. If they don’t transform during the night, they’ll know they’re safe, and if they do transform, the authorities can take action. I’m no expert on Kyoko’s character, but since she’d be the detective leading the investigation, I think she’d volunteer to be the first one to stay overnight in the sealed room so that she can verify her integrity. As for who goes next, it all depends. Maybe it could be left up to a vote between those who know that there’s a werewolf, or maybe Kyoko will decide on her own based on who she thinks is the most suspicious. Either way, if Mondo gets thrown into that room, it’s game over.

I think that’s about all I have so far?? Sorry if some of this doesn’t make sense, I wrote some of it at like 6am while running on 0 hours of sleep. Idk what else to write about ehehe. Also gotta love how I said I didn’t have much planned out at the beginning of this and now here I am like 10 paragraphs later. erm.

But anyways !! I hope this was satisfactory enough and thank you again for asking it made me rlly happy :] if anyone else has any questions or comments or whatever don’t be afraid to submit an ask !!!! I’d love to get more hehe :D

[mageofseven]

The Brothers’ Reaction to MC smuggling in a pet from the Human World

Depressed MC asking the brothers to let her back into the human world to “grab something important” but won’t say what it is. Once back from the human world, they reveal that the item of importance is actually her pet. Let the battle to keep it commence!

Lucifer:

Being the observant guy he is, Luce notices MC’s change in mood rather quickly

Thinking maybe you were just having an off day, he didn’t say anything about it

But then the end of the week came and you still seemed out of it, lacking your usual enthusiasm 

When finally approached about it, you wouldn’t meet his eyes

“There’s...something I need to get from home. Back in the human world...”

A moment of silent passes.

“Would you care to elaborate on what that may be?”

Avoided answering like the plague. Instead, a day of constant begging ensues.

This man is usually pretty resistant to such a thing, thanks to his brothers (especially Mammon).

Still, your their low mood mixed with his mild curiosity led him to give in.

Next day, he agreed to let you go, under the condition that you show him whatever items you took as soon as you’re back.

He never expected that the “something important” was going to be a small, chubby dog. 

Cue the frustration

“MC, you are well aware that no animals are allowed in the dorm--”

“BUT YOU HAVE CERBERUS!”

“Cerberus doesn’t live in the dorm with us and actually serves a purpose--”

Angry Dog Mom™️ activated

For once, Lucifer is the one on the receiving end of the lecture as you list all of your dog’s important qualities and why you need your furbaby with you.

Man is stressed out just wants to be down with the conversation; time to choose his battles. Spoiler: he doesn’t choose this one.

Negotiation ensues. Outcome? Two weeks. MC gets a trial run for two weeks. If they can take care of the dog by themselves for two weeks without any major issues caused by the dog while also taking up the grocery shopping for the next month, the dog can stay.

This man does not have high hopes for the dog, but will humor MC for the time being.

Mammon:

Of course he’d know when his human was feeling down. Who do you think he is?

In truth, it took him about a day and half to realize that they were feeling sad and not just too busy to hang out.

To his credit, he didn’t wait around for MC to perk up on their own.

“Yo, what’s the big idea? If you’re sad, just say so!”

Don’t bother denying it; the poor boy is already worried.

“Mammon... I kinda need a favor...”

Boy wouldn’t admit it, but he was eager to do what ever he could to cheer you up

Until you say you need to get to the human world to grab something

He already knows he’ll be hanging from the ceiling when Lucifer finds out, but this boy just can’t say no to you.

Makes a few deals with some witches and has you out there the next day

Is confused as hell when you bring back a cage

“What even is that thing??”

“It’s my chinchilla, Kiwi.”

This boy is dead when Lucifer finds out, by hey, at least the little rodent is kinda cute?

Leviathan:

This boy was too absorbed in the anime to really notice anything wrong with you at first.

He was a big fan of the manga series the anime was based off so when he heard they made the anime for, Levi needed you to watch it with him.

When he had paused it to rant about an inconsistency between the manga and the anime however, he noticed you were spaced out

Poor boy is instantly insecure.

“Of course you’d ignore a waste-of-space otaku like me...”

“No, no! I’m sorry! It’s just...”

It takes a moment to explain why you zoned out.

“Levi...can you please help me get home? Just long enough to get what I need!”

Boy is lowkey worried that you actually plan to leave and not come back. After spending time reassuring him that you really do just mean a quick trip to grab something important from your home, he’s a little more comfortable with helping.

Luckily, your goals seem to align with his.

He recently found out that his favorite mangaka  is doing a book signing in the human world, but Lucifer had already refused his request because he didn’t trust Levi to go alone.

So guess whose making this trip a reality? You!

The two of you go to Lucifer right away to beg him to let you to go to the human world just for a day.

Though still a bit iffy about his decision, he did eventually agree since he knew if Levi were to fall out of line for some reason and do something he shouldn’t, MC could use the power of their pact to bring his actions to a halt.

Mission one success!

Two days later, the two of you are on the way to the human world.

You had to spend the first couple hours of it in line at the manga shop so Levi could get his book signed.

Not as boring as you may think. You got to talk to Levi for a while and it was really cute seeing him all excited.

Once the boy got his book signed though, he was too absorbed in the fact that his favorite manga artist wrote on his book cover that he forget his end of the deal. This dude was totally ready to head home till you reminded him about why you’re here.

Right, onward to MC’s house.

Awkward boy is awkward. He waited outside as you rushed into your house so he didn’t have to deal with uncomfortable conversation with your family.

You eventually come out with a backpack full of who-knows-what and a fish bowl with a tiny, almost translucent fish.

“Okay, I got her! Let’s go home!”

“Wait, you have a fish too??”

You two would get in trouble if Lucifer found out you made an unapproved stop at home, so you decided to pretend that the fish is Levi’s for now.

He’s actually glad to know you both have another thing in common.

Satan:

It was just a normal Sunday afternoon. You were relaxing with Satan as you both read your individual books.

However, he looked up from his book to find your eyes staring out the window instead of on your book.

Satan knew since he saw you at breakfast earlier that morning that you were upset about something, but decided to wait and see if you’d to come to him first.

So far, that hasn’t happened yet. He sighed and lowered his book.

“Okay. So what is the problem?”

Denying it just receives an eyebrow raise from the blonde. Try again.

“Look...there something from home that I miss. Like, a lot.”

Even after asking a series of question about this ‘something’, all he got in return was a sad shrug.

“Do you think...is there any way I could go home and get it?”

Satan questions if the item is truly that important, but of course you say yes.

Only Diavolo and Lucifer can activate the teleport magic in the student council room because of a series of issues that took play like 50 years (three of them were Mammon’s while one was Levi’s) so now all of the brothers are locked out without explicit permission. Satan was never particularly interested in going to the human world before, but once Lucifer decided he wasn’t allowed to anymore, Satan started searching for a way to do so.

And he succeeded. Lucky you.

It took three days for the perfect opening. Lucifer had to handle some legal matters with Diavolo further to the west of the Devildom. He let everyone know at breakfast that he wouldn’t be back till later that evening.

The two got to MC’s house without any problems (well, except for Beel, but a promise to get him something from Madam Screams when they got back helped him to ‘forget’ the comment MC made about their trip before they left)

Your family was out when you got there so the two of you entered the house without distraction.

As soon as you entered, you started searching under the couches, behind the TV, in your room under your bed, various different spots.

Satan raised an eyebrow at your actions, curious about what you were searching for, but didn’t ask. After all, you already decided not to tell him earlier. He just had to be patient and see for himself.

While you did that, Satan wandered into the kitchen to see more of the house. That’s when he spied an orange ball of fluff on top of the fridge.

He smiled at the cat as it jumped down to counter to meet with him. Reaching out to pet the orange tabby, it purred against his hand.

“CHEESE!”

MC raced into the kitchen to embrace the cat.

“Cheese?”

“Yeah, her name’s Cheese.”

So this was what you were looking for. Hmm. That explains the secrecy, he supposed.

Not sure how you both are gonna hide the cat from Lucifer back at House of Lamentation, but hey, Satan’s all for cats.

Asmodeus: 

Asmo was actually pretty observant when it came to your mood change.

He didn’t really ask about it though. Instead, he launched into just comforting and cheering up.

As soon as he saw the mood shift, it was officially a spa day; he had you take a nice relaxing bubble bath, lit scented candles, and even gave you a makeover. Picked out an outfit that he had been practically dying to see you in and did your hair and make up too. 

Honestly, you did feel a lot better. All the attention Asmo was giving you really did help you cheer up and you even felt extra beautiful by the end of the night.

It was while he was doing your nails and you both were talking about anything and everything when you finally confessed to why you were so sad today.

“It just hurts, ya know? I know I really didn’t have a chance to bring it with me, but still...”

Before you even a chance to say what ‘it’ is, this boy already saying you should just go get it. As if it’s that easy.

Or is it?

The next day, he talks Lucifer into letting you both go grab a few things from your home in the human world.

Honestly, things should not have worked out as well as they did, but no complaints here.

When you get there, this boy is exploring every little corner of your house and isn’t even being subtle about.

Oh well, you start packing up different items from your room as he judges the brand of shampoo and skincare products in your bathroom.

Wasn’t as surprised you might think to find a ball python snake in your tub.

Boy has obviously dealt with bigger snakes in the past.

Decides to the charm the little boop noodle and comes into your bedroom with the snake on his shoulders.

“MC, look at this! Isn't this the cutest little thing I could find?”

“Oh nice! You found Lyla!” You smile. “She always finds away out of her tank, but I was worried about how far she made it.”

Asmo wasn’t particularly interested in helping you carrying the tank back so you had to call Beel to come help you.

You two are basically in trouble the moment you walk in to the door and Lucifer sees the snake.

You have to do the dishes for the next two weeks and Asmo has to pick up more days to cook dinner, but you somehow manage to keep the snake here with you.

Beelzebub:

Another brother who notices your sad mood fairly quickly

But he doesn’t really know what to do about or what to say

So he basically just tries to spend more time with you when he can so you aren’t stuck being sad and alone.

Starts walking you to class and doing homework with you more. He even skips his workouts some days so he can take you out some where and keep you away from your room.

He takes you out to eat a lot over the next week and you have to admit, it really does cheer you up when you see him happily munching on his favorite meal.

Beel’s presence is a mostly quiet one, but very comforting.

Still, you can’t help but to miss a certain piece of your home.

When the weekend comes, you finally confess to Beel about what has you down.

“Can’t I just...just real quick? I just want to stop at home to get something.”

He tries to ask about what it is specifically that you need, but you just get all fidgety and deflect from his question.

Poor boy is worried that he just upset you more by asking so he drops it.

Helps you get permission from Lucifer, who relents that it wouldn’t hurt for you to have more personal items here with you during your stay in the Devildom.

In the human world, you hadn’t even put your key in the lock before barking was heard from inside. As soon as the door opened, an excited husky jumped you.

You give out a big laugh as the dog puts its front paws on your shoulders and licks your face.

“Chaos, down! Down boy!” You say between laughs. I takes a minute for the good boy to settle down and put all his paws on the ground.

Beel’s original surprise melted away to a sweet smile.

The three of you went inside. As you went to grab a bag and gather different items, Beel sat on the couch (after his offer to help was rejected and he was told to relax).

The slightest movement made by the demon made the fluffy boy jump and let out small barks; he wants to play!

Beel finds a ball on the other side of the room and starts throwing it for the husky. The good boy duo plays fetch!

Eventually, MC comes back in the room, beaming at the sight.

“Aww you’re such good friends now!” You say before picking up a leash and calling Chaos to you. “Come on, boy; you get to come back with me.”

“...What?”

You explain to him that you came all this way for Chaos because you missed your big fluffy furbaby so much.

Sweet boy doesn’t have the heart to tell you no, that Chaos can’t come back with you.

Lucifer, on the other hand, had no issue telling you such when you got back

And, in fairness, its kinda hard to sell the idea that a dog named Chaos won’t cause any trouble in the dorm.

Beel steps up and says he’ll help you take care of the dog.

Lucifer let’s the dog stay

...for now

But if the dog does anything at all wrong, both of you are expected to take responsibly (and punishment) for it.

Belphie:

This boy noticed you started sleeping more, which was the telltale sign that you were feeling sad to him.

Believe me, this boy gets it

And honestly, seeing you turn down spending time with his brothers just hide away in your room to sleep, it hurt to much to see and really hit close to home

Like, only he is allowed to be that depressed. You’re suppose to be cheerfully buzzing around the house like always.

At first, he just kinda inserted himself in your nap times

I mean, he always felt a little better when you or Beel joined him, so it was a good place to start.

He was honestly kinda hurt when you rejected his offer and said you just wanted to be alone for a while.

It only made Sleepy Boy a bit grumpy though. He still laid right beside ya and wrapped an arm around you.

Sleepy Boy wasn’t accepting a no from you

Belphie wasn’t going to leave you alone because he knew all too well that just because you said it, doesn’t mean you actually want it.

“Watching you be like this is just making me sick. I’m not leaving you.”

So yeah, cuddle time is non-negotiable.

One day, you laid there, but couldn't really sleep.

Your problem was just spinning through your head. You wonder if you told Belphie... would help you? Could he help you?

"Hey, Belphie?"

Opens an eye just slightly to look at you.

"Is...is there anyway I could go home? A way that doesn't....doesn't involve Lucifer knowing?"

That got his attention and the boy wasn't too pleased. Opens both of his eyes.

"You've only been back for like a month and you already want to leave us?"

"No! Just...look."

You explain to him the situation and how you just want to grab something from home, but you know Lucifer wouldn't allow you to bring back what you need.

A chance to go behind Lucifer's back and piss him off? Well, why didn't you say so?

Gets help from the other member of the F.A.L.L. (Former Anti-Lucifer League), aka Satan.

Basically gets you home the same way you did in the Satan scenario, but with Belphie tagging along instead.

When you get to your house, you raced inside with Belphie just trailing behind.

Doesn't make it passed your living room, just kinda lays on your couch till you're done grabbing things from your room.

Has to be woken up from his nap when you're ready to leave.

You decide to wake him up in a cute way.

Sleepy boy wakes up to find a fluffy long-earred creature on his stomach.

"What the hell am I looking at?" He yawns.

"Its my bunny, Bella." You grin. "She says 'hi'."

He reaches out to pet the bun's soft fur.

Doesn't really ask anything about it.

I mean, if all it takes is a rabbit to make you happy then it's nothing to question.

Not sure how you'll be able to KEEP the rabbit with you in the Devildom, but hey, that's your problem when you both get back.

~

Masterlist

[ditttiii]

Finding Me Through You. || jjk ||

(Angst // comfort // romance // strangers to friends to lovers // a hybrid AU)

Summary:   You lose yourself to the feeling of having the man you love, kiss you and it feels like a homecoming. It feels like having the stars align perfectly, it feels like having your world tilt back on its axis. It feels like magic, joy—love.

OR

Jeon Jungkook. The campus heartthrob. Captain of the football team. High School Prom King. Teacher’s favourite. Student body favourite. Anyone, and everyone's favourite. This is the story of how you went from strangers to best friends to finally lovers and if in the way you somehow found yourself? well that was just a bonus.

Part One

Jeon Jungkook. The campus heartthrob. Captain of the football team. High School Prom King. Teacher’s favourite. Student boy favourite. Anyone, and everyone's favourite.

 Also your best friend. A shocker to many.

To an outsider, who hasn't seen you two together, it would be hard to believe that you were his best friend. You–the resident nerd, the geek, the shy white hybrid. But you were. You were the best of friends. 

You were both panther hybrids, but that didn't mean that you both had the same personalities. Far from it really, while you were painfully shy and non-confrontational, Jungkook was fierce and loud, the one who always stood up for what was right. The golden maknae–as he was affectionately referred to as, in his circle of friends. While your fur was white and spotless, your voice soft and mellow, his was a soft gold with bold black stripes running along the course of it, his voice loud and clear–unafraid of being heard. Wanting to be heard–demanding to be heard. 

The dichotomy between the two of you was as obvious to you as it was to everyone else. 

You remember the first time you noticed Jeon Jungkook. You really noticed him. Of course, you knew who he was before, he wasn't exactly subtle with him and his group of friends being the most popular guys in your college. But that was the first time you really saw him for who he actually was. 

You were working at the small cafe on your campus. It was a cosy little thing with students spending hours pouring all their energy into last-minute assignment submissions and consuming ridiculous amounts of caffeine. So, you were certainly surprised when the door to the cafe opened–the chime above it ringing softly and letting you know about the arrival of new customers, and you looked up only to lock eyes with Jeon freaking Jungkook.

Your breath got caught as he gave you a soft polite smile before one of his friends–Taehyung you think–pushed him forward and they moved further to the back of the cafe. 

You were soon away from the counter, walking towards his table to get his order. You knew any other girl in your shoes would have been jumping for joy–ecstatic to be talking to him and his friends. But you weren't any other girl because despite being a predator hybrid, your persona was mostly soft. Shy. You didn't want to come under anyone's radar just because you took his order. But your bills weren't going to pay themselves and you had student loans too, so you sucked it up and marched forward. 

Let's get this over and done with already. You thought and blew a raspberry, your overgrown bangs fluttering away before settling back on your cheek and tickling your skin softly.

There weren't many things that could surprise you anymore–the hands that fate had dealt you with already having taken their toll on you. But today you were surprised. You don't know why, but for some reason, you hadn't been expecting Jungkook and his posse of friends to be nice. But they were nice–beyond nice. They were friendly and polite–unflinchingly courteous. Hell, they even bowed to you, simply for serving them coffee. A mundane job on your part that you weren't doing out of any goodness of your heart, but solely because you were getting paid for doing it.

—CRASH—

You turn, as the sound of glass shattering reached your ears and almost as if on autopilot you moved towards it, praying that nobody had been hurt.

You get there and see a fox hybrid from one of your classes cursing and furiously trying to get the water off of his shirt with a tissue in his hand.

You look him over to see if he has any injuries and release a relieved sigh when you don't see any. You then rush back and grab one of your coworkers, asking them to look after the cash register as you go to the back to get a broom. 

You come back with your cleaning supplies and scoop the shattered glass away, mopping the floor dry after. Just as you were about to head back you hear someone holler, "WAITRESS!" 

You turn with furrowed brows and see the fox hybrid from earlier snapping his fingers in the air. 

Yes, you were a hybrid and part animal but you were also part human, and that sort of behaviour was demeaning to you. However, being the peace-keeper that you are, you say nothing and just silently walk towards him, voicing out a polite 'Yes?' once you reach beside his table. 

"I don't know what kind of shit you are trying to pull here but I am not falling for it. Why the fuck was I charged for the glass? That shit shattered and it could have hurt me!? And YOU are trying to make me pay for that shit?! Fuck you! I ain't paying for this shit." He yells as he stands up and takes a threatening step towards you, his hybrid instincts taking hold of him. 

You stumble back, at once terrified of the man in front of you. You wish your hybrid instincts would come through, hoping that the predator in you would somehow protect you. But your meekness wins and you stumble back even further, apologies pouring out of your mouth as you try to distance yourself from the fox hybrid. You were ready to pay the money out of–your own pocket if it meant not having to face his wrath. 

"Dude, Back OFF" you hear someone threaten, and suddenly your vision is filled with black—the black of Jeon Jungkooks back to be precise. His leather jacket shone softly under the warm lights of the cafe and you fix your eyes on it.

You try to distract yourself from the fact that the air around you was growing heavier by the second. Killing intent pouring out of their bodies, making it harder for you to breathe. 

You are the lamest panther hybrid ever,  You tell yourself. You couldn't even stand up for your own damn self! 

You are a disgrace to predators. Always the fucking damsel in distress, The mean voice inside your head continues, and you feel yourself shrink further into your shell. Tears pool into your eyes, as your cheeks colour with shame and embarrassment. 

"Y/N!" your eyes snap ahead, the tears slip down your cheeks and leave warm, wet trails behind. You hiccup and try to step away, to get away, to run.  

It's not like you are good for much else anyway, whispers the voice again. Watering the overgrown tree that has fertilised itself on your insecurities and fears— and you shudder. Your breaths start coming faster—shorter, and you start to feel light-headed. 

You feel a panic attack coming, but before you can think about it too much, you feel as someone wraps their arms around you. The arms thick,  strong and warm, pull you closer to a chest. The chest is even warmer and firmer under your cheek as you lay your head on it and try to get your breathing under control. You know who the chest belonged to, you know your tears were ruining the white tee under Jeon Jungkooks leather jacket. 

You can't even afford to dry clean it for him, your brain rationalises and you pull away because even amid an almost breakdown, you can't forget, just how tight on cash you were. But before you can pull back completely, the arms that were around you tighten and cage you in. Pulling you closer, and your nose hits his neck, before one of the arms snakes around to your head and starts patting your hair—softly, as if you were a child.

It's only then that you realise that you were still trembling like a leaf in a storm. Your breaths were still coming out more as shudders and the ache in your heart only worsens, as you realise how nice it feels to have someone hug you. 

He was still holding you, softly rocking you from side to side. Whispering reassurances softly, but ones that you could clearly hear with your hybrid hearing. You think you should, want to pull back, run away from him after all, he was a predator—a strong and extremely dangerous one at that. If he wanted to, he could snap your spine in half like a twig.

But even with the warnings ringing inside your head, you don't make a move to leave his embrace and just silently accept the affection—even if he was doing it only because he pitied you. You don’t care, you couldn't remember the last time someone had held you so tenderly, with so much care, as if you were a porcelain doll that could shatter with one wrong move. 

So you stop thinking, stop moving and just feel. Silently let Jeon Jungkook embrace you in his iron-clad strong arms. You close your eyes and pull yourself closer to him, barely a hair's breadth closer, too afraid to shatter the moment and assure yourself that he won't notice.

However Jungkook does, he holds his breath as he feels you move closer before a small smile slips onto his lips and he softly nuzzles your hair. Breathing your scent in, he tightens his arms and pulls you even closer.

Next: Part 2 

Soo this was originally going to be a drabble in response to this ask, but then I got carried away with building this imaginary world in my head and it turned into a Two-shot — which is honestly just SO me. I can never pace myself *smh*

I hope you enjoyed this, the next part is gonna be less angst-y and more warm and cuddly—so YAY! to that. 

If you liked this please drop a like and give me your feedback in the comments or well the ask box as always, is also open for anyone that would like to share their feedback in detail or just anonymously. I would be VERY happy if you re-blog too. 

I LOVE you so much for reading till the very end. If I could meet you and give you cookies-I would. But till then here’s a *virtual hug*

[wonkastarshine]

A Willy Wonka Prequel?

Ever since the news broke a couple weeks ago, I have been thinking non-stop about this new prequel. My boyfriend and I had a conversation about it that lasted almost an hour. So many thoughts and questions have swirled around my head, but the only thing that has really stuck with me is simply this: why?

Why do we need this movie? Why is Warner Bros. thinking this is a good idea? Why is this existing when Taika Waititi is already doing another version of CATCF on Netflix?

It just honestly baffles me because the main complaints against the 2005 film were targeted at Wonka’s added backstory. Audiences said it was unnecessary and dragged the film down. I personally don’t mind it. I think it is a very Dahlesque addition. I mean think of all the nasty and abusive parents in Dahl stories from Matilda to James and the Giant Peach. John August and Tim Burton gave Wonka a backstory and people rejected it. We saw Wonka as a child, run away and then a slight glimpse of when he was on Cherry Street. The trouble with a prequel is that so much of the character of Willy Wonka is up for interpretation. Even with Depp’s added backstory, there were still so many gaps that the audience had to fill in for themselves such as the whereabouts of his mother, full motives for his father hating candy, what he did after he ran away and how he actually gained the skills and knowledge to become the genius candymaker he is. And the reason we don’t know is because Roald Dahl never intended us to.

All we learn from the book is:

Opened a shop on Cherry Street

Opened factory

Chocolate Palace

Spies

Factory Closes

And we saw all of that in the 2005 version. It’s told via exposition in the 71’ film, even though some of the stories were left out all together. So… the screenwriter will be left to either

a) stretch out what was from the book  

or

b) completely throw out his original story

I don’t really want to know where Wonka gets his top hat from or how he gets his loans to build his candy empire. This is again where my main problem lies. I am very nervous that they will make Wonka a very boring, typical, heteronormative character to appeal broad audiences. Willy Wonka has become such an icon because his full backstory is up for grabs. They could surprise us and not give Wonka a love interest at all, in line with the book and both movie adaptations. But, the most common trope of prequels is to introduce a love interest, but this does not align with Willy’s future of becoming a recluse and hiding out in his factory. So much of the Wonka character is who he is because of his isolation from humanity. Maybe I’m being overly picky, but I’m very defensive about Willy Wonka as a character. I believe there is only so much you can do with him that still stays true to him in the book. 

And it all comes down to who will play the candyman himself.

I am not a big fan of either Holland or Chalamet reportedly being in the runnings. If we are doing a new version, I want someone completely unknown. I want a fresh new face for Willy Wonka. Don’t get me wrong, I think that both of these men are fine actors, I just do not think they would be right for the part. Most likely, ⅓ of the movie will be with a child actor, as we watch a very young Wonka and then transition to the actor who will play Wonka for the rest of the movie. I just want a brand new actor to grace the face of a young Wonka. I can think of some older, adult actors who would be good as Wonka such as Taika Waititi, Oscar Isaac and Bryan Cranston (don’t @ me, I have my reasons lol). But, I honest to goodness cannot think of any young actors right now who could be the not yet reclusive candyman. Since Tom and Timothee are just rumors, I take it with a grain of salt, especially Tom because he has contractual agreements with Marvel and his schedule might not allow for it. 

But besides the issue of casting, we simply cannot ignore that this could possibly be erasure of both movies, the 2005 one specifically. Because the story of CATCF has been around for over 60 years now, it’s embedded into our consciousness and culture. While the story is known, everyone loves a different Wonka, whether it be Wilder or Depp. Wilder Wonka has the advantage of being around for over 50 years now versus Depp’s 16. Due to the 2005 version still being fairly recent, all things considered, it is in danger of being erased from the public eye even more than it already has been. And that is very apparent by the Wilder vs. Depp arguments that have risen again since the announcement of the prequel. Those arguments are silly since everyone has the right to an opinion, but it also shows the really nasty side to a fandom. With the arrival of a prequel movie, I think the fandom will be split even further. Depp’s version will be ostracized more. Wilder’s could see a surge in praise, if the prequel is terrible because it has the advantage of being older and more widely accepted. It angers me, just because CATCF 2005 is so hated upon, for many times no good reason other than “iT’s nOt thE oRiGinAL.” 

A prequel could serve to burn every bridge connected to 2005 and leave the fandom in the dust, with no new material to be released such as anniversary editions, box sets or a 4K blu-ray remaster, which we so desperately want.  Or it could be what we see currently on social media with younger generations discovering a new version. Both Wilder and Depp could be erased and new generations could see this new Wonka as the only Wonka. That’s a scary thought. No matter which version you prefer, I would hate to see a fandom be completely obliterated by the prequel or taken over by influencers. (no hate to influencers, but sometimes they can do some damage without knowing it.)

Overall, I do think this movie will get stuck in development hell. They announced the development of this prequel in 2016 and only now in 2021 do we get a release date. I think that Warner Bros. is desperately grasping at strings. Upon seeing the general negativity following the announcement, they could be thinking twice. But, I believe this movie won’t be made. It’s a difficult story to tell and the main character has spanned generations of people. Also, with the increasing awareness regarding Roald Dahl’s anti-semetic comments and the ongoing pandemic, they could ultimately decide to shelf the film. Which is what I genuinely hope happens.

[talenlee]

Welcome to ERFs

Have you enconutered the term ‘TERF’ and left wondering: Wait, what’s that?

There are some people, TERFs mostly, who think that TERF is a slur. It’s not; slurs are terms used to direct social power against a marginalised group. If you shout TERF at someone on the street, they’re not going to assume someone else is going to attack them because of being so painted. If they are, they’re incredibly paranoid, because TERFs are typically very privileged people who are afraid of being criticised by trans people.

It may sound like I am overdoing it, but I really am not. The typical TERF discourse is an attempt to weaponise outrage at the idea of women facing disagreement from, pretty consistently, other women. But what is a TERF? And what about those other -ERF terms I’ve heard?

So, content warning: TERF stuff! And SWERF stuff! And BLERF stuff! What’s a BLERF? Well, after the fold.

The -ERF grouping of letters stands for -Exclusionary Radical Feminist. To further break that down, let’s work backwards.

Feminist means someone who aligns themselves, politically, with the position of feminism – that is, that there has been a system of power in our society that has directly imposed on women, and, once further examined, many, many groups, and the removal of these power systems will be to the benefit of everyone.

Radical means that there is a direct advocation of change. That is, it’s not enough to vote for these things, or to hope things get better on their own, or just do the things the best way you can in your own life. Radical change is advocated for, in the change of systems and removal of power structures. This is important, a radical feminist is someone who both recognises and wants to change structural power systems in our society that marginalise women.

Exclusionary and here’s the place where the problem starts. Because I’m down for radical feminism. It’s this word, where the term suddenly takes on a term. This is the letter that signals that this person has a radical feminist position but there is someone excluded from it.

So there are a couple of -ERFs, and they’re defined by who they exclude from their feminism. The most notable and commonly known are TERFs, Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminists. This position is that yes, feminism is one thing and it’s very good and we need to dismanle all the systems in place that make gender enforcement unfair and that marginalise women, but we also need to make sure that any progress doesn’t benefit trans women. This is obviously shitty as hell, but it also works against itself. Suddenly, there are all these projects that have to be scaled back or done more carefully and more unhelpfully just because ‘well, what if a trans woman benefited as much as a cis woman?’

It sucks!

SWERFs are SEX WORKER Exclusionary Radical Feminists. That is, they think that anything to do with sex workers is somehow outside of feminism. This leads to some weird ideas like the notion that sex workers performing sex work are ‘doing men’s work for them,’ or ‘oppressing themselves,’ which sounds like an interesting academic conversation to have but it’s not an academic conversation, it’s a conversation which involves telling women doing work that they like and they are willing to do that the problems aren’t abusive labor practices or people refusing to pay them, their problem is that they’re only doing this for bad reasons.

Swerfs also tend to have to ignore a lot of things like the presence of nonbinary people, or, uh male-on-male gay porn. That’s pretty weird!

And my newest favourite is BLERFs. That is Bi Lesbian Exclusionary Radical Feminists. The conversation about ‘bi lesbians’ is one of those ones that should kind of not reach beyond the boundaries of ‘oh, that’s a bit silly.’

The idea is that some lesbians describe themselves as bi lesbians. Some other presumably non-bi lesbians, or, conspicuously, non-lesbians, object to this, usually framed as it being somehow harmful to the idea of lesbians to allow it to include lesbians who are bi.

This is, at its core, a disagreement over a word that could be regarded as a sort of clerical disagreement in a style guide, but that would require BLERFs to have an ounce of chill. Instead, BLERFs, as other ERFs, believe in radical, transformative, change-based feminism that extends to all of humanity, except lesbians who describe themselves as ‘bi lesbians.’ And the result is a kind of public discourse where people who rail at the idea of ‘bi lesbians’ say things that kind of give away why they are so annoyed by the idea of ‘bi lesbian.’ It inevitably starts to be about definitional arguments and brings in a wing of toxic conversation about things like ‘gold star lesbians.’

It’s important to remember that -ERFs aren’t just your run of the mill anti-sex worker or transphobic dickheads. -ERFs are still people who are wedded, in their own mind to the project of radical feminism – that is, feminism that sees the world as in need of change. Conservatives aren’t TERFs, they’re just assholes.

Part of why I think recognising -ERFs is that it’s important to have a way to recognise the people that you think might be on your side, but aren’t on the side of the other people on your side. If your aunt is pretty progressive on some things but isn’t okay with trans people, that indicates she’s already drawing lines about who the project of feminism shouldn’t be allowed to include – and that is a problem.

[sandraharissa]

Alastor’s motivation

The only suggestion of what Alastor’s true motivations might be that I’ve ever seen brought up is that he wants to become the king,,, and you can probably already tell that I’m about to disagree with this.

Imo the problem with this conclusion is that it’s too far-fetched. It’s only based on the idea that he wants power and the king has the most power so he must be aiming for that. The problem with that is that currently it’s completely out of his reach. It’s the typical ‘character is so smart I’m sure he’s got it planned 2000 steps in advance’ despite the fact that he’s in no position to think this is something that’s achievable for him.

This idea is only not overcomplicated in terms of Alastor’s plan if he’s aiming for marrying Charlie, then it’s pretty straightforward but also something that is purely wishful thinking on the part of the shippers and something I’m 100% certain will never happen but I won’t get into it here.

In the pilot there’s a lot of talk from Alastor about being bored and needing entertainment. My initial impression was that it was all just a bunch of (really weak) excuses. Because whatever sinister plan he has, he obviously can’t reveal it to Charlie, so he needs to lie to her about why he wants to get involved and saying something like ‘I’m in a mood/I don’t need any reason I’m just chaotic like that’ is one of the easiest things he could have done.

But then I found “Alastor’s Game” by The Living Tombstone. Alastor sings a song that’s a description of your typical deal with the devil, the only part that stands out is the ‘entertainment’ element to Alastor’s deals. I don’t think this is standard, the devil is usually portrayed to be very menacing and taking the deal seriously.

Pleasure to play, how I enjoyed you

It was such a gas, I really am amused

You were lovely entertainment

In this song there’s also a lot of talk about help that Alastor provides, more so than is typically provided by the devil, who usually just tries to trick someone and gives nothing in return, but here Alastor even offers to provide any help needed during tough times.

I’m your first last resort so call me when you need a helping hand

I'll help you feed them

A casual whisper just to guide you

It’s also way more personal and pleasant, with Alastor waiting for you, and he’s your sweet radio demon, even tho the devil usually doesn’t care about becoming friends with their victims or even about keeping up appearances.

Waiting and primed until I could find you

Just sign on a line and we can be friends I'll be here for you until your world ends Enjoy all your toys, I will supply

You can bet that you're deserving

Why, it's almost like you're flirting

Sorry, I don't mean to alarm you If you ask me to stay, I would be charmed to

I'll be your sweet radio demon

Now you're at the final episode, eternity with me in hell

So what this conveys to me is that Alastor was honest about everything he said in the pilot, it is indeed about entertainment for him, cos what he finds entertaining is indeed human drama “reality, true passion”, playing games and making deals with ppl. I guess the only thing is he lied by omission.

Omitting the fact that he intends on making deals with the patrons of the happy hotel. That’s why he’s there, because it’s the perfect place for him. Only the most desperate in the whole of hell would go to such a place like Charlie’s hotel, so it’s the perfect hunting ground for him. He won’t need to wait or search ppl out, the ones most susceptible to him will be themselves coming to him, all he needed was to be given access to those patrons. And bringing in Husk and Niffty is a genius move on his part, where the patrons will be directly exposed to two ppl who owe Alastor, but because it’s likely Alastor brought in the specific two ppl that he’s on good terms with and because they are shown to be treated fairly and generously by him, that would make it more convincing to the patrons to also make deals with Alastor. And the making of more deals will result in him rapidly gaining power but via a plan that’s doable by him.

And him saying he wants to help Charlie while also believing her plan will never work doesn’t seem like such a contradictory behavior anymore. He doesn’t think it’s possible to redeem a demon but the fact that Charlie believes it doesn’t get in the way of his plans. It would actually help for the already desperate ppl who got their hopes up for something Alastor takes for granted will only lead to their failure to look for other alternative solutions to their problems and make them more susceptible to Alastor’s manipulation.

I want to watch the scum of the world struggle to climb up the hill of betterment, only to repeatedly trip and tumble down to the fiery pit of failure.

Also this is essentially exactly what he’s doing to Charlie, the whole helping her, being charming to her, just without the handshake but everything that followed fits with Alastor’s usual routine. Maybe the princess owing you a favor would be a nice cherry on top of a cake but in that moment most importantly he needed her to agree to giving him access to the hotel (note how Charlie herself was somewhat desperate and hopeless in that moment, Alastor saw it and sought her out, but she was clearly not desperate enough to make a sketchy deal, yet).

It also makes sense with my personal assumptions. Thinking that Alastor has complicated plans and that the hotel is just a small part of it would make me think that that would relatively soon call for the falling apart of the found family. Because Alastor doesn’t care about the cohesiveness of the family, he only needs it around for as long as it furthers his goals, which wouldn’t last long if his end goal is to try to go from hotel employee to king. However that wouldn’t be what I’d expect from a story that is named after the hotel (home of the found family). But if his end goal is the hotel itself, then that aligns better with how I’d expect the story to go. That even tho Alastor isn’t really sentimental toward the family now, that he’d still from the very beginning care about keeping the family together for as long as possible and protect it, to keep everyone on good terms for as long as possible and to keep his secrets from Charlie for as long as possible, because he can only continue benefitting from this arrangement as long as it lasts.

That also fits perfectly with how I’d expect the conflict between Alastor and Charlie to go. Because of the set-up in the pilot with Alastor as part of the family I’d expect that he’s gonna be given a redemption arc. A lot of ppl are worried that he’d directly hurt Charlie but this doesn’t sit right with me, I think he’s gonna directly hurt the patrons, which won’t be directly abusive toward Charlie herself but it’d still hurt her and violate her trust.

So Alastor’s there to make deals. This isn’t a crazy revelation and really it’s something that maybe should have been obvious either way, but I’m glad I managed to make an argument for why this might be the case instead of ‘duh, obviously he’s there to make deals’.

[army-of-mai-lovers]

hello arthur!! tbh people are being terrible in your inbox and the last ask killed my brain cells so this is your free bingo card to talk about anything you like. also sometimes googling sharks with human teeth (exactly what it sounds like) helps!! much love <3

oh my gosh I’m OBSESSED with these photos they’re so cute!!!! and thank you for the bingo card Effie I appreciate it so much. I’m gonna rant about Deadly Class (a show I definitely don’t like and thus don’t run a fan blog for....smh) bc it’s on my mind and it looks like it’s just going to go quietly into that good night instead of being made fun of and dissected and I think that should change bc goodness gracious that show does not deserve a dignified death. also I’m gonna put this rant under a readmore bc this is gonna be long and it has nothing to do w atla. warnings for discussions of racism, callous mentions of murder and death, swearing, discussion of Nazis, discussion of gore, abuse ment

Okay so for those not in the know (which is probably everyone considering the show was on Syfy and it’s being canceled due to low viewership) Deadly Class is a teen murder drama set in the late ‘80s starring Lana Condor, which makes it sound like it was engineered in a lab to appeal to me. Literally my friend and I were in the middle of watching Schitt’s Creek, which I adore, and she was like “well I heard about this show called Deadly Class” and described it and I was like fuck Schitt’s Creek we’re watching this. It had a 64% on Rotten Tomatoes, which usually makes me nervous, but I was literally like “I don’t care because I know I’m going to love it.” 

And well. I did not love it. 

I truly do not understand how one fucks up “teenagers (mostly) of color go to murder boarding school in the late ‘80s” that bad (I mean the Russo brothers are involved and they fuck up everything they touch so perhaps it was just that). I haven’t read the comic the show is based on but it does appear that a *lot* of the issues of the show stem from the comic, which is...disappointing. Basically, our MC, Marcus, starts off the show homeless after his group home burned down (and it’s heavily implied that he was the one to do it) and gets hunted down by these elite teenage murderers who invite them to their murder school. 

Already, numerous problems are starting to show themselves. First of all, Marcus is Latino, which, yes, it’s very cool that the MC is Latino, except he is literally the white-passingest man I’ve ever seen in my life, and I’ve seen my dad. I didn’t realize that he was Latino until they showed his extremely stupid backstory in a shitty animated sequence and whoever was voicing his dad did this really, really thick Nicaraguan accent and I was like wait a damn minute. So then, I looked it up, and the guy playing Marcus is named Benjamin Wadsworth, which immediately made me think that they had pulled a Noah Centineo and made me think this fully white actor was half Latino (and yes, Latinos can be white, but I think Marcus is supposed to be a nonwhite Latino, and I thought Benjamin Wadsworth was both white and non-Latino). But you know, as an light skinned ethnically ambiguous mixed kid myself, I thought I owed it to him to dig a little deeper, and turns out our pal Ben is mixed (also, he’s like six months older than me and married, which is a trip). And like, okay, I guess I’m glad they didn’t get a white non-Latino man to play a Latino character, but they literally got the whitest looking Latino they could think of to play him. He originally auditioned for Billy. Billy’s the token white. And the producers were like “wait you have Latino ancestry?” (how they found that out I don’t fucking know) and let him go for Marcus. And like. Okay. The character in the comics is light-skinned but he does not look white, and Benjamin is not a good enough actor for them to just pass on the actors who surely auditioned for that role and were more visibly Latino but like. Okay, I guess. 

Second of all, this show is mega racist and it starts to reveal itself when you look at how the murder kids are styled in literally their first appearance. What struck me the most was the fact that the Latina (whose name is fucking Maria, for heaven’s sake) was wearing a sexy red dress and Day of the Dead makeup, which, I’m sorry, huh? That just so happens to be the Mexican girl’s murder outfit? I’ve tried to give them the benefit of the doubt and speculate that maybe she wears it to like, subvert people’s expectations, but at this point idk how this is subverting anyone’s expectations nor why she’d be so invested in that. Also, she’s supposed to be a teenager. It’s fucked up to sexualize any of your child characters but it really hits different when it’s your Latina character (and yeah, I know the actress playing Maria isn’t a teenager, but still, it’s the principle of the thing). And then of course, the Black guy, Willie (no he’s not related to Billy they were just like yeah two guys with rhyming names in our main cast sounds legit) is a gangbanger dude who talks the way that white people think Black people talk. I keep waiting for this guy to have one line that’s not complete garbage, but I’m five episodes deep and so far nada, which sucks so bad because there’s like, kernels of an interesting character buried in this horrible racist trope. Also, they had him sleep with a N*zi. I hate it here. Lana Condor (her character’s name is Saya) gets off fairly okay, at least in this first shot (they don’t have her wearing a kimono to go murder people, thank fuck), but the way she behaves is super weird, like kinda flirty towards Marcus, kinda badass but not enough to actually do anything, etc. Billy’s white so they couldn’t make him a racist caricature or anything but I have no idea why he’s here. See, instead of talking about the real politics of the real world, Deadly Class makes up fake prejudice that honestly makes the lok bender/nonbender bullshit look sensible. Maria, Willie, and Saya are Legacies, which means that their families are established murderers (fun fact: the N*zi girl is also a Legacy, because her father murdered hundreds of civil rights activists. And the characters of color align themselves with her. I don’t understand.) Billy, and later Marcus when he decides to go to murder school, are Rats, meaning they have no affiliation with established murder groups. So, in this show, the people of color have privilege over the (mostly white) Rats. Make it make sense. Further, this means that Maria, Saya, and Willie should have absolutely no reason to hang out with Billy, and yet they do because the Russo brothers have heard that the kids these days like the found family trope, so they put five unlikely friends in a room together and insinuated that they could all be besties. I swear, this show is the La Croix of found family tho, in that there is absolutely no flavor whatsoever. None of the characters develop into a found family. Saya is bound to care for Marcus for reasons, Maria is using him, Willie is also using him, and Billy is only his friend because they’re both Rats. Saya and Maria are already friends (and honestly their friendship is the most compelling thing in the whole show). There are no other connections between the characters. But they’re totes a found family!!!!/s

Also, they don’t let Saya be mean. Every character says “oh Saya’s such a bitch” but do we ever see Saya being a bitch??? No! Saya is literally just a nice girl who is kinda quiet sometimes and murders people and has a tragic backstory. There’s an argument to be made for Maria being more bitchy than her tbh. And like, fine, if you want Saya to be nice, she can be nice, but stop telling me she’s mean then!!! If you’re gonna tell me that I’m gonna get to see mean Lana Condor in a leather jacket in this show then deliver bitch. 

There’s truly so much more I could talk about (Chico??? What the fuck is Chico’s arc???? What in the actual hell were they thinking when they were writing anything to do with Chico????? my DUDES WHAT IN THE SAM HELL. also making Billy straight was so fucking stupid he’s literally gay come on now, also Master Lin is so fucking useless what is he even doing here) but instead I’m going to outline the version of Deadly Class my friend and I have been talking about while we watch the inferior real Deadly Class. 

lots of things are the same actually because there are some elements of the show that have potential. Marcus is still homeless at the beginning, everybody still thinks he burned down the group home but he didn’t, Willie is still a pacifist, he and Marcus are still partners for their first murder school assignment, Saya’s mean (but like actually), Billy still has green hair and is the token white of the group (although a Billy of color.....thinking), and they all hate Reagan

in an ideal world Willie and Maria would have different names (Willie bc his name rhymes with Billy’s and that’s fucking stupid, also Willie is just a terrible name in general, Maria partially because it sounds way too similar to Marcus and I don’t understand why the guy who wrote this couldn’t make his characters have different sounding names, and partially because no Latina character of mine is going to be named fucking Maria), but for the purposes of this outline I’ll keep their names the same for clarity.

Marcus doesn’t initially have his rep. He’s on the streets when he sees a girl his age (Saya) come out of this elevator in the back of a restaurant brandishing a sword, and decides to go into the elevator, sees the stash of weapons, and decides to steal one so he can fend for himself better. 

also keeping the detail of Rory murdering a bunch of homeless kids, but now Marcus knows that Rory is actively hunting him down. 

in the process of robbing the school’s weapons collection, Marcus figures out that it’s a murder school

Master Lin catches Marcus robbing the school, they fight, Master Lin overpowers Marcus and ties him up. He says the weapons are for students only, and Marcus says he’s applying. Lin asks what his qualifications are, and Marcus says “you know that group home that burned down three months ago? all the kids that died? I started the fire.” 

(also no shade to Benjamin Wadsworth but in this version he is not playing Marcus. Marcus is not white-passing)

Master Lin initially doesn’t believe him, but Marcus presses on and eventually convinces Master Lin that this is really what happened, and so Lin welcomes him to murder school. 

Marcus’s first class is Poisons, and his lab partner is Billy, who takes a shine to him and shows him around school. There’s no Legacy/Rat nonsense, but you do have normal high school drama adapted slightly for murder school. Maria is the prettiest and most popular girl in school, Saya is the mean girl/valedictorian, Willie is the jock, and Billy’s the punky weirdo. 

Marcus is, of course, the new kid with a reputation to live up to. 

Things kind of fall apart when Willie and Marcus are paired up for an assignment: to seek revenge on somebody. 

also Willie’s backstory is extremely different. his dad was a Black Panther, and he was murdered by the FBI when Willie was a kid. distraught, his mom moved to Texas, where she started working a corporate job and rose really high in the ranks. To maintain her status in the company, she had to do some really horrible things, including working with the FBI to take down other civil rights activists. Willie found out about this and was absolutely horrified. his mother insisted she was doing this so that he could have a better life, but he refused to listen to her, and ran away, and ended up at murder school. 

Willie got into murder school because Lin knows who his mom is, and assumes that Willie is just as cutthroat as she is. he gains a reputation as well. 

also, Willie’s extremely wealthy, and this shows in the way he dresses (preppy jock vibes)

you don’t find out about this backstory for a minute tho bc unlike Albert Kim and the Russo Brothers, I can wait until the right opportunity presents itself for a backstory drop. 

ok anyway back to what I was saying earlier

they have to seek revenge on somebody. Marcus asks Willie if there’s anybody he wants revenge on, and Willie very sincerely says no. Marcus scoffs at him and says he’s clearly had a very easy life, to which Willie replies, “Well, who do you want revenge on?” 

Marcus immediately says, “Rory.” 

So they track Rory down, and since Marcus hasn’t actually killed anybody, he hands the weapons over to Willie. Willie frowns and says that he has nothing against this dude he’s never met before, so Marcus should be the one to hurt him. Marcus says that this is a group project and Willie’s got to pull his weight, and they get into an argument

the argument gets loud, and Rory hears them fighting and starts chasing them. 

in the midst of the chase, both of them divulge their secrets to one another. Willie laughs hysterically and says that they deserve each other bc they both lied to get where they are, and now they’re going to die because of it

Rory backs them into a corner, and Marcus uses one of the swords he tried to steal earlier to shank Rory

They throw the body in a dumpster, and after this, they’re friends, and Marcus decides he’ll fit right in at murder school. 

ok so that was only one episode but things to look forward to in the version of Deadly Class that only exists in me and my friend’s heads: Marcus dealing with the emotional and moral fallout of his first murder, Willie trying to figure out what it means to be a pacifist in a world so hellbent on doing violence towards him, Saya being mean to everyone except Maria, Maria convincing Saya to relax and have fun, the gang bonding in a Breakfast Club style situation adapted for murder school and making a joke about how this is like the Breakfast Club because it’s the 80s and the movie just came out, Saya and Maria falling in lesbians, Marcus and Saya being depressing edgelord besties, Billy being gay and fighting his abusive father, Marcus and Billy being uncool weirdo bffs, Willie and Maria rolling their eyes at Marcus and Saya’s cynicism, Billy coming out to Marcus and talking about his experiences being gay, which makes Marcus think “hang on, why do I relate to that?”, Willie seeing Marcus make a sarcastic comment about kissing a guy and having a crisis, Marcus and Willie falling in love, the gang taking a road trip to Vegas to murder Billy’s dad and giving Billy a gnc thrift store makeover on the way, and eventually the gang murdering the shit out of Ronald Reagan. 

[fgodestinyawakenings]

FGO Destiny Awakenings: Fujimaru Ritsuka and Fujimaru Ritsuko bio

My procrastination on life, writing my story, anything I needed to do is bad enough I’m surfing web day by day so.... Might as well get my ass to work on this

This is pretty long since it’s two people bio, so everything is under the cut! 

Note: In regards to their Magic Circuit quantity, neither FGO wiki or material gives any information about them. I’ve estimated them to be around Emiya Shirou’s level of circuit, but can be lower or higher... But more likely lower as they are only receiving magecraft training in the story

Note 2: Foreign languages in here are courtesy of google translate, if you’re able to improvise its grammar, please drop me an ask so I can edit

Note 3: Some of the info are quite spoilerly but not that much spoiler since it’s a base information for me on their personality, background, magecraft

Note 4: After reading the bio, I know some will be enrage with me at the sensitive topics I’m about to touch for this story. Some are imagination, some are based on what I experience, and I won’t revealed which of what is imagination or experiences in reality. The bio will contain sensitive potential topics such as Depression & Family abuse, you’re entering this at your own risk to read.

Reminder: Yes this is fiction, but you need to separate in from reality. I’m not your babysitter to cater your needs, I have put up 4 notes to remind you of the content you’re entering. And yes, I’ve pacing back and forth on their backstory knowing the backlash I received since this is Fate lore we’re going in out of consideration.

Fujimaru Ritsuka

Character Type: Human, Master, Magus

Affliliation: Chaldea Security Organization

Gender: Male

*Lineage: TBA

Birthday: December 6th

Height: 1.72m

Place of Origin: Japan

Alignment: Lawful Good

Likes: Meeting and getting to know historical figures, Magi*Mari, Reading and Researching about history

Dislikes: Needles

Talents: Stage Magic 

Circuit Quality: D

Circuit Quantity: D

Magic: Projection (Illusion), Hypnosis

Elemental Affinity: Air, particularly closest to Mist

Profile

Background

Ritsuka’s father divorced with his birth mother for unspoken circumstances and remarried to Ritsuko’s mother at the age of 11. At their first meeting, Ritsuka’s body was completely frail with his bones visible in plain view, wearing a dead emotionless face that shocked Ritsuko completely. His family situation was only described to young Ritsuko that Ritsuka’s father is doing everything it takes to ensure his mother will never come near him again.

But after spending more time with his new sister, Ritsuka gained back not only his weight, but his ability to speak, where first happened to yell at her for being reckless in fighting against their bullies. Though, he immediately regretted doing so and apologized afterwards when he knew all she did was to protect him.

Whenever someone brought up about his mom, Ritsuka immediately pushed the subject away to another topic. However when prodded further a little, he’s often described to be showing his real self by a broken look with a heartbreaking smile whenever he mentions about her

Personality

Intelligent, compassionate, self-conscious and rational with a reserved personality holding a snarky mouth, Ritsuka is considered the “brains” and leader to his sister and contracted Servants in their goal to restore humanity  

By many Servants and Chaldea Staff who are Mages, he’s often described as someone “born with a heart that’s unfitting to be a magus”. Ritsuka would often bring his tablet along in each Singularity to inquire and take photos of the historical in each singularity. His scrupulous attention to detail comes in handy when he is off creating strategies to win against the enemies in the Singularity. And his ability to learn magic quickly helps in fasten his pace to be a better Master, but sometimes his answers in avoiding his friends to find out his meeting with Merlin within his dreams leaves others questioning his credibility for his talent. 

Because of his strategic mindset, Ritsuka is highly perceptive to the others' feelings, and can figure out the source of most people's inner turmoil in a matter of a few important conversations.

“The last time someone falls in love with somebody, they had either--created a stepping stone to an illegitimate son to bring his father’s kingdom fall into ruins, trapped themselves forever in a land of utopia or even knocked up with his Master’s sister because why the hell not. No offense to you, Caster.”

-- Ritsuka to his sister while mentioning about Arthur’s, Merlin’s and Cu Chulainn’s love life  

However his lack of experience in love and holding low regards about it from reading tons of historical and mythology books, had made him completely oblivious to his own and other people who had fallen in love with him. Though this is mainly of his own low self-esteem of his own worth as a person may have stemmed from his childhood, despite being considered an ace in everything he does by his sister. Ritsuka usually hide this but immediately quickly putting back up the façade of “a reliable and dependable but also ridiculously goofy person” when someone notice.

Understanding how critical their situation is, Ritsuka often refuse to sit still when there’s a given chance to do anything to help Chaldea. He also seems to get a little annoyed sometimes when people think he's cute or adorable, as he wants to be taken seriously like a grown-up from people around him as at most times Ritsuka is more mature and wiser than others. 

When Ritsuka and Ritsuko are on their adventures in the Singularity, Ritsuka is the one to act as the leader because he is shown to be very brave and smart. He can be very protective of his sister, whenever she is in danger he is always there to help and will do anything to get her free.

It is also well mentioned that unlike his sister whom is open about her problems and sociable, Ritsuka is much more reserved and emotionally distant often avoiding talking about his past and himself. Even though he admired Heroic Spirits greatly and wished to understand them more, some would notice he often forced himself to draw a line from getting too close for some reason. But as the journey goes, Ritsuka has become greatly attached to everyone in Chaldea amd considered them strongly as his secondary family.

With his strong knowledge in history and novels, Ritsuka thinks much like an actual detective.

Despite his serious personality, living with Ritsuko his whole life (who is famous for her silly attitude) has caused him to indulge in childish activities with her. As such often either jokingly teased he’s forced to join with the shenanigans with the Child Servants, or mostly being the butt monkey teasing by them.

He also holds a huge soft spot towards children in particular to Jack and Mordred. When asked why in particular, Ritsuka easily gives his true smile that children like them deserve the love and acknowledgement they needed. But, he does a huge comedic soft spot to Alexandar and Ko-Gil, making his heart thumping when both used their charm while calling him “Onii-chan”.

He also seems to not mind breaking the rules in order to have some fun, which often having him to be scolded by Emiya when he does so. In particular habit is often staying up late or staying over at Romani’s room to watch Magi*Mari.

Abilities

“Merlin: After all, you and I are very similar, Ritsuka-kun. There shouldn’t be a problem for you to learn my tricks. Ritsuka: By similar, if you’re talking about having the same sexual reproductive organs... That’s captain obvious, Merlin.”

-- Ritsuka to Merlin on his first lesson with him

Illusion Magecraft

With his experience in entertainment magic, Merlin had taught him in magecraft of deception and proficiency in Projection. A magecraft that relies on fooling a being’s psyche to win, a magic which Ritsuka concluded only a mage like Merlin befits this magic for his notorious mischievous behavior.

Misdirection

Under the incantation chant “maintenant tu me vois maintenant tu ne”, Ritsuka will fool his enemy thinking that he had disappeared by their five senses. Rather than concealing his presence, Merlin described this spell as “Putting one’s attention focused strongly onto another. Like falling in love at first sight, where your world focus on that person alone!”

This spell Ritsuka commonly mostly to hide himself from enemy, and also additionally do a surprise attack from the back

However due to his quantity and quality of his magic circuits, Servants and enemies with strong sense and Clairvoyance are able to notice his whereabouts.

Projection (Illusion)

Unlike Emiya’s projection, Ritsuka’s projection creates objects based on his memories and imagination. A skill he’s able to do easily as though it’s strangely natural from his muscle memories, he currently lacks the learning to reinforce his projected works to a reality

Under Merlin’s teachings, Ritsuka is able to create an illusion of manipulating to fool his enemies five senses during battle. But, it may not work if one is able to see through eventually  

To perform this magecraft, he need to act/pretend of an action in order to project the desired item from his mind into reality. However because it’s like an illusion, not only it lasted for seconds to minutes, that item may not even appeared in his enemy vision if the latter noticed the truth.

Combat

Even if magic circuits is weak, Ritsuka makes it up by physical combat via kendo. In combat, Ritsuka will give commands to his Servants while fighting against the lower mobs summoned by enemy Servants. Lacking any fear towards death, Ritsuka won’t hesitate to step forward to deal against enemy Servants if needed to buy some time for his allies Servant to summon their Noble Phantasm

As such even facing against a professional magus, Ritsuka treats it as an experiment test nearly at the cost of his own life to find a weakness within them.

Role

Ritsuka acts both support and fights with their Servants in Chaldea. He has no specific Servant in mind as being dragged into the World of Magus. Ritsuka admired all Heroic Spirits, often near instantly switched into his fanboy mode when meeting those he admired. 

While he enjoys their company and wishes to personally know each of them better, he does get exasperated by some of the extremely colorful and chaotic Servants summoned in Chaldea.

But, Ritsuka instantly draws a line between him and the Servants from getting to close by often avoiding talking about himself and his own true feelings. Despite making himself distant from them, he cares a great deal about them and strongly hated the idea of treating them and anyone as tools or weapons to use.

Unlike his sister, he’s the one who supplies mana generally to most of the Servants via a technique Merlin taught him when he requested earnestly for his help.

Fujimaru Ritsuko

Character Type: Human, Master, Magus 

Affliliation: Chaldea Security Organization 

Gender: Female

Lineage: TBA

Birthday: May 29th

Height: 1.58m

Alignment: Lawful Good

Likes: Sports (mainly excel in softball and basketball), Morning workout as early as 4am, Sweets

Dislikes: Studying through reading of books, Anyone who hurts her brother and even attempting to bring up his family problems, House chores

Talents: Accuracy in throwing and quick learning speed taught via hands-on

Circuit Quality: D+

Circuit Quantity: D+

Magic: Nine Hand Seal Magecraft

Elemental Affinity: Fire

Profile

Background

Ritsuko mentions to Mash in Fuyuki Singulary Section 9 Part 1 that her real father disappeared on both her mother and her when she was a baby for reasons unknown. As such, it’s noted her mother has been raising her single-handedly by herself before remarrying Ritsuka’s father when she was 10.

At their first meeting, Ritsuko was completely horrified at Ritsuka’s body was completely frail with his bones visible in plain view, wearing a dead emotionless face that barely even respond to her when she first greeting him warmly. His family situation was only described to young Ritsuko when she asked was that Ritsuka’s father is doing everything it takes to ensure his mother will never come near him again, and will only explain to her when she grew older.

She mentioned though he was quiet, he was still receptive if not hesitant in answering to her. But after spending more time with his new sister, Ritsuka gained back not only his weight, but his ability to speak mainly to yell at her for being reckless in fighting against her bullies. Though at that time, Ritsuko chuckled she was unsure why she was crying while he apologized; whether it was the bullies, her brother scolded her, or the happiness she felt when she saw life in her brother’s eyes after months of wondering if the effort was futile to get closer to her new older brother. 

Personality

On the surface, Ritsuko is fierce, independent, and pugnacious, but beneath her tough exterior, she possesses a strong loyalty toward her friends and duty as the Humanity’s last Master with her brother. She also has an admirable compassion and devotion, demonstrated when she expresses love toward things such as her family and friends. Unlike the calmer and reserved Ritsuka, Ritsuko is similarly quick witted and impulsive, especially in heated situations. And, she lacked perception towards her rash decisions often resulted in her accidentally insulting others.

Ritsuko is tough, impatient, headstrong, sarcastic, and assertive. Due to her crush on Mash, she tends to pull her away and shield her from others who showed interest in her. Like her brother, Ritsuko fully embraced her position as the Humanity’s Last Master, but lamenting her weakness how she isn’t calm and level-headed as her brother. A trait of Ritsuka she admires greatly when they were kids, as she’ll always be grateful during the times she was in near trouble. Mainly Ritsuka’s willingness and accepting of her secret towards her interest in woman, as she didn’t want her mother to know out of fear of disappointing her.

Because of this, Ritsuko also tends to be protective and even more so than her brother when it comes to his own well-being. Her mother never told anything about Ritsuka’s parents, except as she quoted: 

“Mom said I was too young understand. Telling me Ritsuka’s mom did something really bad to him so Dad ensured his mom will never come close to meet Ritsuka again.”

As such, Ritsuko often keeps an eye on Ritsuka’s reaction whenever someone asks about his mom; ready to deflect or even pull him away at the uncomfortable situation.

Initially frightened and frozen with fear at Fuyuki Singularity, Ritsuko lamented with regret greatly how if her strength to save Mash from Artoria Alter’s Noble Phantasm could do the same for Olga Marie. But, she knew better she can’t wallow in grief, vowing to grow stronger and requested Emiya’s and Sadakuni’s aid to train her in combat and magecraft respectively.

Abilities

"Boomer-Dagger”

A pair of dagger crafted specially by Emiya after considering her skillset. It can be used for both physical combat and her magecraft. When thrown to her enemies, it returns to her via an invisible string connecting to her magic circuit. Also, it’s used as a placeholder on her talisman before conjuring her Nine Hand Seal Mudra Magecraft

Talisman

Her catalyst to invoke with her magecraft. Taught by Sadakuni, she needs to place it on her target before doing her Mudras to attack her opponent. Ritsuko often brings her mat of magic circle drawn by her blood to imbued powers into the talisman daily through meditation.

Onmyoudo Kuji-in aka Nine Hand Seals Magecraft

Taught by Section Chief Agano Sadakuni, Ritsuko mainly uses this magecraft for combat. This magecraft relies specifically on specific hand gesture and pattern to conjure her spells. From reinforcing her weapon and physical strength, to summoning fire magic for combat

Rin-Pyo-Toh, ready for battle: Enhancing her physical strength

Kai-Jin-Retsu, release: Conjure an explosion burst of flames

Jin-Pyo-Zai, bind: With ranged of 10 talisman connected by a burning magical rope to bind the target

Zai-Sha-Kai, heal: Transfer her mana for healing or empowering her Servant

Combat

Like her brother despite having slighter better circuits than him, Ritsuko sides along with her brother via physical combat. She often pairs with her brother, acting as a bait to go against the enemy, while Ritsuka pulls off a surprise ambush via his illusion magecraft.

In the face of an enemy Servant, Ritsuko steps back to give orders to the Servant she contracted with.

Role

While she treats Servants who are Kings or Queen with respect by their title, Ritsuko treats everyone equally with respect and as a friend. She’s shown to be more than willing to teach them about the modern technology and slang, also joining them in their crazy plans often resulted in chaotic humor, much to Ritsuka’s chagrin.

Like her brother, Ritsuko detested the idea of anyone treating Servants as tools or weapons as she view those who contracted her as their friend. This feeling also extend to her enemy Servant, believing they are living beings with their own free will and emotions.

While her brother generally supplies mana to their Servants, Ritsuko acts second-in-charge right after he finish mana transferring to their Servant which resulted him immobile and carried around by Emiya or Caster Cu Chulainn.

[jungnoir]

destiny | 08;

⇢ summary: you’re just about ready to give up on life altogether; your love life is in ruins, you’ve lost your job, and your family couldn’t care less about you… and then you meet your blushing guardian angel, and maybe life isn’t so bad after all.

⇢ relationship: jeon jungkook/reader, min yoongi/reader.

⇢ genre: supernatural, angel!au, demon!au, romance, thriller.

⇢ words: 7.5k words.

⇢ warnings: mentions of depression, violence, murder.

previously |  next

a/n: lots of scenes now that we’ve got the whole cast introduced! I think I cleaned up everything I needed to... I hope I did, at least ;-;

“You’re taking your sweet time.”

Seokjin shivers at the sudden intrusion into his thoughts. How long had it been since he’d last spoken to him? Chancing a glance around the dark alley, he confirms it’s empty, no onlookers in sight. “It’s barely been a week.”

“And in that time, you’ve had several chances to complete your task, no? One very early on, if I recall.” God’s voice is mocking, if not irritated. 

Wincing, the angel curls further in on himself against the brick wall. It felt like he was perpetually stuck here, pacing outside Hell’s Kitchen with his tail between his legs as he plotted your demise. It was supposed to be quick, over with the night Jungkook had fallen, but he’d been cowardly, hesitant. God knew. He always knew. Now he paid the price.

“I’d assumed... there was no way I could’ve known that the fucking prince of Hell would be brought into this.”

“That’s why we strike when the iron is hot, child. Now you’ve just made it harder on everyone who will be affected by your mess. That poor human would have died like planned if you’d just done it then and there on the bridge, but you were weak. They would have never thought to align themselves so stupidly with evil if you hadn’t been a coward.”

He couldn’t have. How would that have been handled? Killing an angel in plain sight, perhaps in front of you if he was particularly cruel? The angels that would see, the whispers that would spread, there was no way- 

Of course—all of that—he knew.

It was part of the punishment, forcing him to deliberate every step he took next. To carry out this task alone, letting the shame fall on his shoulders alone, to shirk himself of his own most potent morals... all of it was for his amusement. He was turning him into the thing he despised the most. “I will handle it... I am handling it.”

God laughs, “By bringing someone else into it?” 

“You’ve given me no choice!” Seokjin’s voice rises before he can catch himself. Anger is seeping out of every pore. A few passing by the mouth of the alley startle, but see nothing. 

“You had a choice the day you defiled yourself with that demon scum. You betrayed me. It hurts me to hurt you, but you must know the severity of the pain you’ve caused me... the pain you’ve caused that boy. It’s evil. You must purge yourself of it. I’m giving you a chance because I love you-”

“I did what you asked.”

God’s voice vanishes from Seokjin’s head in an instant, cowering away into the darkness at the sound of the new angel’s voice. Quickly schooling his expression into indifference, the elder angel stands tall in front of the younger, “And?”

Jimin sighs, “You should give up. The demon is too intertwined now.”

“Did they suspect you?”

“No, not that I know of. I told them everything they needed to know.” Jimin looks around the alley with an uneasy look, “They’ve got someone else helping, too. The demons didn’t say much about them, but supposedly it’s a friend of the prince, someone who could take you down. That’s where Jungkook went with him earlier.” 

“I saw as much,” Seokjin swears under his breath, “and after he left, the demon trailed them back home. They’re making things messy.”

“Then give up.”

Faking a smile, Seokjin draws closer to the other angel until he’s practically mounting him. The air grows very tense between the two, “Give up? Now, where’s the fun in that, Jimin?”

Jimin keeps a guarded expression even as his hands shake, “You’re not God.”

I’d do a damn better job, Seokjin bitterly muses. What would’ve resulted in an immediate death for any other angel just leaves him with a sudden, annoying headache. “What else did you say to them?” He growls through gritted teeth.

“Are you going to do what I asked?” The smaller angel grabs Seokjin by the collar, a brave move on his own part, “You promised.”

In retaliation, Seokjin grabs Jimin by the shoulders and shoves him so far back that he stumbles to the ground with a thud. Quickly overtaking him, Seokjin straddles Jimin and yanks his head closer with a hand clenched about the back of his neck, “I’ll keep my side of the bargain if you keep yours. Remember, runt, I run shit around here. If anyone should be worried about following through with what they promised, it’s you.” Jimin’s eyes widen and spark with fear, setting something off in Seokjin that makes him jump off of him in an instant. The angel on the ground can only stare up at him in hopes that he could discern what the other would do next. “Find out who and where that friend is. Don’t get caught. God thanks you for your cooperation.”

To further drive home his intention, Seokjin raises a hand and sends the wounded angel flying into a wall, effectively cratering the brick. 

“Mook, come on,” the first grumble of a voice is heard throughout your home early that next morning, definitely not your own, “you can’t just- Mook!” The frustrated grumble rises an octave as the clatter of ceramic against ceramic calls you from the dregs of sleep. Eyes closed, you can sense the body moving in front of your window toward the unoccupied side of the bed. A dip in the mattress makes you roll more onto your side, lazily peeling your eyes open.

Jungkook is there, hair neatly combed and lying limply over his flushed features. There’s a tray in his hands (a tray you hadn’t seen since the last time you had entertained at your home, way back when Yongsun would bring a couple of her friends over for brunch to “get you socializing”) holding two mugs of something steaming; just by the smell alone, you can tell it’s tea. There’s also a plate separating them with a modest omelette in the middle too, and you aren’t sure if it’s his, yours, or... both.

Jungkook’s cute bunny teeth are revealed when his lips form a face splitting smile; he looks between the food he’s made and you with an expectant look, “Hungry?”

You stare at him blankly, tiredly for a little longer before rubbing your eyes with the backs of your hands. “Whatever that is,” you wince at the deepness in your voice, plagued with sleep, “smells really good.”

Jungkook beams with pride when your eyes flutter back open to examine him, “Thanks. Thought you might want something simple to start the day. I already ate some cereal that hadn’t expired.”

Ah. Your small fantasy of sharing an omelette with Jungkook in bed was quickly shot down and perhaps for good reason. Jungkook ate like a teenage boy who’d been starved on an abandoned island his whole life, and god forbid he tried to be playful and feed you! You’d burn up like a hot stove. 

Heh, “god forbid”.

“Shit, I forgot... I haven’t gone shopping for you or for food.” You look over the clothes that Jungkook had been wearing; he’d alternated between a few makeshift outfits of yours for the last two days, but you could only keep washing the same clothes over and over before it got tiring (and costly). He had virtually nothing of his own. No clothes besides the ones he’d fallen in, no personal belongings, nothing.

Jungkook was new to being a human, so thoughts of personal items probably hadn’t been on his mind. As an angel, things like showering, eating, sleeping, and the like had never been a requirement to stay alive. Now that he was human however, those human needs were becoming hard to ignore. Hunger pains after several hours of not eating would make him unnecessarily irritable, and he definitely disliked the smell that would begin to emit from his skin if he hadn’t washed in a while. Being a human was... incredibly burdensome.

You didn’t need to go over board; technically, the room down the hall could be his bedroom (as soon as you got around to tidying the rest of Youngho’s things you’d bought him that he’d respectfully left) and as a new human, he was going to be incredibly low maintenance. You doubted he’d want tens of pairs of shoes or designer accessories to match. It wasn’t even really just that; Jungkook was fairly simple in everything. He really was godsent.

“Whatever you wanna do,” Jungkook says, setting the tray between you two, “but we should be wary. We don’t know where Seokjin might be waiting to pop up from next. I want to be able to protect you... but I’m not used to the limitations of this body.”

Mook hops up into bed the next moment, her beady eyes observing the scene before settling herself next to you. You hadn’t spent much time with Mook since the Youngho incident, and you could tell from the way she rubbed against you that she was glad to have you back. You reach a hand to gently comb at the fur on her head before taking one mug from the tray. The aroma that hits you is a pleasant vanilla and white tea that instantly soothes your nerves at the mention of Seokjin. Taking a sip, you notice that he’s made it just the way you like it too. You guessed after watching you make it so many times, he’d gotten the hang of it.

You hum and settle back into your cushions, “Jungkook... I’m thankful you want to protect me, but I think you should be worried about yourself too. All these sensations are going to be new to you... this is a new life you’re going to live, if we live. Being human looks simple but compared to what you had going on before, it’s really not.”

Jungkook begins to protest, yet his halt is immediate. Who was he to say that you were being too worrisome? After all, you’d been the human this whole time. You had a better grasp on it than he did. Angels could watch from their perches in a world between human reality and the afterlife, but at least they were safe there. You, on the other hand, and the other billions like you were not so lucky.

And you were right. Being a human... it was terrifying.

Yoongi’s offer had bothered him all night long, and even now as he was getting used to these new urges and needs, he wasn’t subscribed to the idea of it lasting. Demons truly were closer to humans than angels, but demons were also closer to angels too. If he became a demon, he might feel more at home in his body- no, he couldn’t simply give up just because of bodily needs. He... he had to be stronger than that.

Being a demon meant he was stronger, possibly as strong as he was in angel form, and by extension it also meant that he could take care of you. As a demon, he was more apt to fight off any supernatural (or human) pests that dared to hurt you. As a demon, he also could form a connection to you that, while paling in comparison to his angelic one, would still be a hell of a lot stronger than his human one.

But as a human... he could die with you.

As a guardian angel, the worst part of being a guardian is the inevitable moment when your charge would have to move on to the afterlife. There were charges that would pass in their sleep peacefully, but then there were charges who would die in house fires, drown, be shot and killed in a robbery, be hit by a car on a night of sadness and impulse. He was told it’d get better the longer he lived. He didn’t believe it. He couldn’t. That’s why he was here, and that’s why you were now alive and suffering alongside him.

If he hadn’t done a thing, you’d be dead. A life of pain ended, but a life of happiness never found. It hurt him to think you’d never know a true lover’s touch or feel elated with the sun soaking into your skin. You would never know true happiness, and that’s what scared him about humans the most. He did not want that for you.

Maybe he was selfish. He might have tried to play God. Some grand plan aside however, your life meant more to him than that.

“...You’re right. I’ll take it easy, okay? Until I get the hang of it all, that is.” Jungkook gives you a patient smile despite the turmoil in his eyes, and that’s that on that.

You match his smile and take another sip of your tea at the same time an idea pops into your head. The outfit Jungkook had been stranded in was nothing special, which of course begged the question... what did he like to wear?

Jimin, from what you’d seen of him, dressed simple and stylishly, a contrast to Jungkook’s casual athletic clothes. You had assumed all angels had a standard issue outfit to wear, but now you weren’t so sure. “Where did you get your clothes, Jungkook?”

Jungkook glances down at the hoodie of yours that was just big enough to fit him and then back to you, “You mean the clothes I first appeared in? They’re kind of… a choice of ours, as angels. There are times when we may need to show ourselves to humans, and in those cases, we very well can’t walk around in ivory robes and sandals,” the image of Jungkook in such a getup makes a laugh tickle in your throat, “so we pick out human clothes that we feel we’d best blend in with. For guardians, they’re also something we believe our charges would find appealing.” It’s unsaid, but the way Jungkook’s eyes fix on you gives you the feeling that he was curious if you had found them appealing.

“Did you have different types of outfits for different situations?” You draw your knees to your chest as Mook gets bored of your petting and makes her way into Jungkook’s lap. 

He nods, “As an angel, my clothes were a glamour. I could change them at the snap of a finger, but once I became human, the clothes I’d been wearing became real and the only clothes I could keep. However, you’ll never find anything like them. No tags, no earthly material, stain-resistant. All the works.”

“Your only clothes, huh? Glad you didn’t have to save me at a swimming pool.” You snort.

“You wouldn’t have wanted to see that outfit? The board shorts were nicely fitting.” Jungkook even bothers to smirk, posing his hips toward you, and the image of a smirking Jungkook in nothing but shorts flashes in your mind’s imagination. Said imagination had always been terribly vivid and you physically jolt as the details appear in your mind. You were not about to think about Jungkook like… that. Right now.

You shake your head quickly, “I-I think I’m good.” The crack in your voice says otherwise. 

Jungkook probably would have teased you more had your phone not alerted you then. You blink, retrieving the phone from your nightstand to see who it had come from.

(1) Unread Message(s)

received: 9:31 a.m.

Min Yoongi (Boss): Forwarding your first paycheck to your account now. Don’t ask how.

“Wha...?” You look at the phone in disbelief, feeling Jungkook lean over your shoulder to peek at the screen too. You exit the message as soon as it registers and, sure enough, once you’ve pulled up your bank app, there is... $50,000 more in your account than there was yesterday. You almost drop your scalding hot tea all over your lap.

sent: 9:35 a.m.

you: I think you may have added a few too many zeroes??

received: 9:36 a.m.

Min Yoongi (Boss): Enjoy your day with lover boy, (Name). Emphasis on enjoy.

Min Yoongi (Boss): :)

You had a feeling if you tried to press the issue longer, Yoongi might actually block you.

Like a weight had been lifted off your shoulders, the numbers in your bank account comforted you down to the core. Even in the midst of supernatural feuds centuries older than you, one of your biggest worries had been how you were ever going to pay your bills. Going from your job before to a waitress job practically spelled a major downsize for you until you could get back on your feet, and now that you had another mouth to feed, you had seriously feared that every meal would be your last.

Something told you this was only the tip of Yoongi’s generosity. After all, he was a demon prince. He didn’t run a bar to make a living, he ran a bar because he had the time. That’s why prices were so low when the quality was so high: money was no issue.

“I have to be honest, I never expected Satan’s spawn to be so... nice.” Jungkook comments, taking a sip from his own cup of tea, frowning when the liquid had since gone cold.

You look up from your phone dazed; if you still were convinced your life had turned a vivid hallucination, you now how had half a $100,000 in your bank account to say otherwise. “Me neither.” Is all you can muster, letting the phone drop to the covers in order to motivate you out of bed. Jungkook looks up at you, then forlornly at his omelette. “Heat it up again with your tea. I need a... cold shower.”

An hour later, Jungkook is sitting cross-legged in the spare bedroom with his eyes glittering, “I can have it?”

There’s an old PS4 resting in his hands, covered in a fine layer of dust but otherwise functional as far as you can tell. Youngho probably didn’t have the balls to take it with him given that you’d bought it for him, so for now, it laid here untouched. “Of course you can. I don’t play it that much and I doubt he’s coming back for it.”

There was a litany of gifts lying around that you had given your boyfriend over the years, many of which had been bringing back painful memories, but some of them felt like they could be rebranded. Coats, colognes, video games and the like. What he had claimed for his own at his place was either up for sale or Jungkook’s pleasure.

“I’ve always wanted to play one of these. Whenever Youngho would come over, I’d just sit and watch.”

“Does Youngho have a guardian angel?” You ask, “I’m just curious. I mean, that night you kicked him out... wouldn’t his angel have intervened?”

Jungkook shrugs, “Of course. Everyone has a guardian angel.”

“Except me now, I guess.” You laugh bitterly. Jungkook’s head snaps up to you, eyes flashing with hurt. The guilt you feel is immediate. “Oh, wait, I didn’t mean it like that.”

The longer it takes Jungkook to reassure you that it’s fine, that he understood what you really meant, starts to make your breath quicken with anxiety. All he does is look down at his lap, sadly fiddling with the console in his hands with much less excitement than before. God, you’d royally fucked up with that comment, huh? 

You’re about to give him a much lengthier apology when Jungkook speaks up again, “To answer your question, his angel was there. We are- I was trained to stop demonic threats toward humans, nothing more, so I could only imagine that angel’s confusion at my interference. Perhaps, they were too afraid to do anything. It’s only a guess though.”

“...Maybe they were aware of how much of an asshole he was and decided to sit that one out.” You offer, trying to lighten the mood. Jungkook says nothing.

He only looks up when you’ve walked over to his spot on the floor, reaching a hand out to softly tangle in his hair. His breath hitches as you move down to cup his jaw, “Jungkook, I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. It was insensitive to you when you’ve been working so hard to protect me. Who cares about a title or wings? You’re my guardian angel no matter what. God doesn’t get a say in that, not this time.”

Little tears prick at the corners of his eyes. He just keeps looking into yours, switching back and forth between each of them as his lip tremors, “What... good am I to you when I’m like this? You should have someone else. God should’ve sent you someone else. If he doesn’t send someone else and he knows I can no longer protect you, then he’s letting you die and I can’t- I can’t do anything about it. What good am I if I can’t do the one thing I was made to do?”

You drop into a crouch until you’re face to face with him, “Jungkook, you are more than a guardian.”

“Am I?” His voice cracks, “I don’t know who I am. I’ve never had a reason to be anyone.”

“I know... I know what it’s like to feel like you have no purpose anymore, believe me. I know what it’s like to be unsure of who you are. I want to tell you that it gets easier, and that there will be more days where you feel whole than when you don’t, but I can’t. It’s up and down. It’s never the same for everyone,” you wipe at a stray tear that escapes his eye, “being human sucks for that. You don’t have any guidelines and apparently everything is already laid out for you without your consent. But I think I can say this with certainty: you, for one, have made it very clear it’s possible to change that.”

The boy scoffs, “And look where that’s gotten you. Now you’re in danger.”

You smile. Cupping both his cheeks firmly, you bring him so close to you that he thinks he’s doing the human version of short-circuiting, “And I found out that there’s someone who loves me so much that he’d defy God just to let me know.”

“Is that enough? To make you happy?” 

Was it? You’d always assumed it would be. A lack of love, easy to explain away. If you could just get that feeling you’d been missing, you’d finally be happy, right? You couldn’t lie to him.

“It won’t magically fix everything, that’s not how these things work, but love does give you something to fight for when you don’t want to fight for anything. I’m still going to hate being awake some days. All I can say is that I would like to at least be awake with you. Does that make any sense?”

He sniffles, then nods.

“Can I hold you?” You inquire.

He nods again, “Yeah, sorry.”

You shuffle some things out of the way so that you’re laying against the carpet and he’s leaning against your shoulder, one arm of yours thrown around him while the other holds his hand in your lap, “What are you sorry for, silly? Being a person?” You giggle, squeezing his hand tightly. “I don’t know, I think you’re doing pretty good all things considered. Some people become serial killers under way less stress.”

Jungkook laughs softly into your neck, giving you delightful little goosebumps. Was he aware of what he was doing to you, or was he just clueless? Part of you wanted to hope it was the latter. The last thing you needed was a hot, self-aware angel. Wait, when did you start thinking of Jungkook as hot- “Then I guess I feel much better. Can we stay like this for a while longer?”

“As long as you like. We’ve got all day to ourselves.”

Taehyung mutters a soft prayer, “Be at peace.”

It’s one of the quickest ways to death when the target isn’t struggling, and the second quickest way when he didn’t have his gun on him. He preferred the closeness of knives anyway. It made it make sense to him, but it also made him feel less like a contract killer and more like he lacked the empathy to be repulsed by killing up close.

The truth was that he did feel empathetic, especially when he really didn’t want to. He imagined how much it might hurt his mother to know of what he was doing, and if he could see her face just once, he’d probably stop for good. He’d tried.

When he’d asked Yoongi that one time, after far too much thinking, if he could see her, the prince had made it clear that to see his mother was to go against God’s wishes and that alone could start a war that didn’t need to happen. It was to be like this. Taehyung was to die alone.

All he could have were the little moments.

The demon falls at his feet with a soft thud, her heart releasing the blade of his knife. Blood drips over the corpse, staining her waitressing shirt red. Slowly, sinking back into the earth, the body disintegrates until there’s virtually no trace left. That was the one upside of dealing with demons: they never left a mess.

Taehyung sends a simple confirmation text to his client that the work has been done and the money is wired moments later. Stashing his now clean knife away into its scabbard at his waist, he makes his way out of the alley and directly into the human traffic of the city, blending in with ease. There’s no rush to be anywhere or see anyone. The world is moving with or without him, just as he likes it best. 

It’s only the middle of the day but he’s already considering which bar he wants to linger at at the moment. If he wasn’t working and he wasn’t sleeping, he was drinking. Had he a human liver, he’d probably have been dead a long, long time ago.

Just as he’s about to slink into one, his phone vibrates with a text.

(1) Unread Message(s)

received: 2:08 p.m.

suga: About the kid—are you sure you want to help? 

sent: 2:09 p.m.

taehyung: you asked me that already, wouldn’t have said so if I wasn’t

received: 2:09 p.m.

suga: You know that’s not what I meant. You’ve never seen him. Are you ready for that?

sent: 2:11 p.m.

taehyung: I don’t think I ever will be so I might as well get it over with

Not waiting for another response, Taehyung locks his phone and shoves it into his back pocket, ignoring the vibrations that signal Yoongi’s concern. As kind as it was, it really wasn’t what he wanted to hear right now. All he should be focusing on is the best way to kill the bastard before he killed anyone else.

“He’s scaring me,” the demon sighs, holding her head up on her fist, “I can feel how angry he is, Lucifer. He’s going to do something he regrets.”

The king of hell is perched on the edge of a bed of satin and silk, one leg crossed over the other as he watches the young servant delicately braiding Inhui’s hair back from her face. “No offense but if I was the kid, I’d also want to kill my father. You can’t blame him. You should want to just as much.”

“I’ve told you time and time again that he didn’t do it for greed. I know him.” Inhui growls, snapping around to stare Lucifer down. The servant girl pales at the sudden change in mood, hands stilling around the black strands weaved through her fingers. Knowing it would be another one of those days, Lucifer waves a hand at the servant girl to leave and Inhui’s hair comes undone with the speed at which she exits through the iron bars of the prison cell. “And now my braid is ruined.”

“You think that an angel would ever give up their cozy seat in heaven for fucking this? You knew the boy for how long? 17, 18 years? That’s barely a second in time.”

Inhui huffs indignantly, looking away from him to the mirror once again to take her hair into her own hands. Roughly, she begins braiding where the servant had left off, “I saw him most of that child’s life. The way he cared for her, the way he cared for me... I had expected you to understand. We were angels once.”

Lucifer snarls, “Don’t remind me.”

“You should be reminded. It’s like you forget where we came from. You’re angry at them when you should be angry at God. He’s the one brainwashing them.”

“I personally don’t care what he’s doing with them. I care what it has to do with my demons.”

“So you don’t care about the angel your son is so interested in?”

At that, Lucifer frowns. “...that one doesn’t count. He’s fallen.”

Inhui huffs something like a laugh when she’s finished her braid, tying it off. Then, she steps around her chair and moves over to her bed until she’s hovering over Lucifer, being one of the few who was ever capable of being in such a position. “You’re worried about your son too, aren’t you? Then you know he’s caught up in the same situation. Have you talked to him about it?”

“I... trust him to make the best decision.” 

“And you think that the one he’s making is the best one?” Not at all, Lucifer thinks, but who am I to stop him? “You have him so close, and you don’t say what you want to. You’re lucky that you can see him.”

“But he doesn’t want to see me. I can’t make him do anything he doesn’t want to do. Whether it’s staying in hell or taking the throne or staying away from people he thinks he can save, he doesn’t listen to me. At least your boy wants to listen to you.” Lucifer doesn’t mean to sound so snippy, doesn’t mean to come off so bitter. Yet, all he feels is bitterness. And sadness. And genuine worry for what is unfolding with their sons right in the thick of it.

It’s silent for a while.

Inhui drops down onto the mattress next to him holding her head in her hands, “What great parents we are.” Nudging Lucifer, she leans back until they’re both looking at each other, “Do you think that fallen will be much trouble?”

Lucifer sighs, “Weren’t we?”

You’ve somewhat setup a neat little space for Jungkook, and while it’s lacking in decorations and style, he looks more than happy with what he’s got. He’s even gotten attached to you calling it “his” room. 

With Yoongi’s gracious gift, you’d spent some time paying off bills and handling some of your pesky student loans. By the time you were through, you’d taken a big gulp of fresh, relieved air. 

Now came shopping, the fun part.

“Jungkook! Are you ready to go yet?” You shout up the stairs.

“Just a minute!” He yelled back, and you could faintly hear him over the sound of video game sound effects in the background. You made a mental note to be ready for him to drag you into a GameStop at some point. 

With how quickly things had been moving for the past few days, you felt that all of the free time and leisure you’d enjoyed today had invigorated you something fierce. You could go for a run, or maybe start some new hobby. The only issue with either of those options was that your reality was not lost on you in the slightest. Your days were forever being haunted by the shadow of Seokjin. In fact, he was starting to haunt your dreams even. He always appeared as a lifeless, indefinite aura, suffocating you in your sleep to the point that you’d wake up thinking you’d died and gone to hell.

And while you were enjoying spending time with Jungkook, you couldn’t help wondering what you could be doing right now to keep him safe. He was so obsessed with protecting you, and yet you were equally as obsessed vice versa. Even though Yoongi had told you to enjoy the day off, it was quickly becoming harder to do so with the places your mind was heading.

You decided to mindlessly scroll through your phone, answering messages you hadn’t gotten around to yet from your old co-workers. You see some messages from Jaebum but decide you’ll get back to him later. Your mother had sent you a few things asking how you were doing while demanding you come to the family reunion that upcoming summer, all of which you completely ignored. It seemed the world was still turning. That was nice at least.

About fifteen minutes later with no sign of your new roommate, you begin to grow irritated. Just as you’re about to yell for him again, you hear a peculiar sound. It’s your doorbell ringing. Your doorbell hadn’t rang since...

A hard lump forms in the back of your throat. You quickly check your phone for any warning messages from Youngho about him stopping by again, perhaps with a lawyer and police in tow. Maybe he was going to sue you for that night and how Jungkook had handled him. You could not deal with that on top of every other thing going on in your life right now.

You quickly preen yourself in a nearby mirror and huddle over to the front door, heart accelerating. You take a peek through the peep hole but can only see a sliver of hair that doesn’t look anything like Youngho’s. A sigh of relief is followed by stark confusion. Who the hell would come to your house uninvited like this? Your mother would, perhaps, but you highly doubted that she would... you needed to check.

Slowly opening the door, you peek around the barrier between you and the outside world. 

“Hey,” Yongsun greets you with relief, “you’re alive.”

Alive? Did she- there was no way she knew...? “Huh?”

She chuckles, shaking her head at you, “Jaebum texted me all worried saying you hadn’t been answering his messages. I thought it was weird so he asked me to come to check on you.”

“You didn’t text me yourself?” You ask, frowning. 

“I... didn’t think you’d answer.”

Shit. She had a point.

She awkwardly fiddles with her fingers and looks down. Part of you was angry at her, another part angry at yourself, and an even bigger part angry that all of this had done to one of the closest relationships in your life up until this point. All over a stupid job. 

“You want to come in?” You offer. She looks up with slight shock but nods anyway, slowly stepping closer as you open the door up enough to let her in.

Her heels clack against the hardwood floor lightly as if to not make her presence anymore imposing than she probably felt it was. She looks around the living room with slight confusion, “Where’s Mook?”

You grumble at the mention of your cat, realizing she was probably upstairs too, “In Jungkook’s room, no doubt.”

“Jungkook? Is that... is that the guy you told Jae was my little brother? I’d been meaning to ask about that.”

Oh, fuck.

With royally good timing, Jungkook makes his presence known as he stomps loudly down the stairs. Yongsun’s eyes widen at the boy, trying to recall when she had ever seen someone like him around you before. You surely would have told her about a guy like that, right? 

Jungkook’s expression is impenetrable, his eyes darting over to you as if to gauge what you were thinking. You give him a helpless look back.

But ever your knight in shining armor, Jungkook forces a laugh that seems genuine enough on the outside looking in. Then, he makes his way over to Yongsun and holds out his hand, “Ah, so this is the famed Yongsun I’ve heard so much about? It’s so nice to finally meet you, ‘big sis’.” 

Yongsun is bewildered but takes his hand nonetheless, a light blush dusting her cheeks, “B-Big sis?”

Jungkook takes his hand back and shoves it in his pants pocket, “Sorry about the identity theft and all. This one here wasn’t quite ready to spill the beans.”

“I’m sorry, I’m completely lost here. What beans? (Name)?”

Did you look like you had any clue about what was happening here too? Jungkook had all the self-assuredness in the room!

“It’s... a bit complicated. You know how silly (Name) can be sometimes, getting flustered over nothing. They weren’t ready to introduce me to Jaebum as their boyfriend yet and we kinda ended up going along with a little white lie for the time being. (Name) doesn’t know how to break it to him.” Huh. Were angels supposed to be this quick at lying?

Yongsun looks absolutely stunned. Looking back between you and Jungkook, she can’t seem to form a coherent sentence easily, “You’ve moved on from Youngho already? I had no idea... how long has it been? Are you-”

“Yongsun,” Jungkook draws her attention back to him with a charming, apologetic smile, “me and (Name) were actually just about to head out and do some shopping. I’m so sorry.”

“Oh,” the girl looks deflated, “I wanted to... I had some really important things I wanted to talk about with you, (Name). Can we talk, at least for a little bit? Alone?”

Jungkook looks about ready to sweep in with something positively corny with just the right amount of socially repulsive to save you. All you had to do was give him the look. And yet... Yongsun looked so sincere. So worried. You couldn’t lie; you missed her. You wanted to talk too.

An idea forms in your head, “How about... we all go shopping together and then we can talk? I just wanted to get Jungkook some new things to wear, it’s not a date or anything.”

At that, the girl perks up immediately, “T-That sounds great! We can even take my car. I’ll go start it.” She sends you a tentative smile and quickly squishes past Jungkook to get to the front door, making her way down the pavement to her sedan parked on the curb. You groan softly. So much for a relaxing day. You guessed it was better to rip the bandaid clean now than never.

You glare at Jungkook as he sidles up beside you, handing you your bag, “Of all people, Yongsun’s little brother?”

“Of all people, a little brother?” The indignant fallen glares right back.

Shopping turns out to be not as stressful as you’d expected. 

Jungkook takes the reins completely the minute you arrive at the mall, going in and out of different stores with a firm understanding in what he wanted. You felt more like a bodyguard, watching him flit about with different bomber jackets and chunky boots. You were finding that you quite liked whatever sense of style he was forming for himself, absentmindedly wondering if he was picking it all based on what he assumed was your preference on purpose.

Yongsun, up until now, had only been making small talk with you about how things were going. Given that you couldn’t disclose a third of what had been happening in your life without sounding insane, you only tell her little bits and pieces about finding new work and spending time with your new “boyfriend”. She spends most of the time asking about him, finding it quite amusing when you get bashful at her questions about when he’d first fallen for you and vice versa. It seemed, however, that even her well of boyfriend questions could run dry at some point.

“I... wanted to apologize to you. About going radio silent. And the job.”

She finally acknowledges the elephant in the room when Jungkook goes to the dressing room to try on some jeans. You share a bench with her outside the changing rooms, a small smoothie in hand (a treat that you’d distributed amongst the group of you about halfway through the trip) that drips cold perspiration onto your pants legs. You’d been pumping yourself up for it for about an hour and a half now, so it hadn’t hit you with quite as much force as it probably would have back home, “What is there to apologize for? You were clearly the more qualified of the two of us.”

“You were going through hell because of Youngho. I wasn’t more qualified, I was just... available,” she sighs deeply, “and I just wanted to tell you that I didn’t know that it was your position at the time I accepted. They’d only told me that another, better position opened up and that they wanted me to move up and... yeah.”

You churn the thick fruit mixture with your straw thoughtfully. “It had all happened so quick. I believe you.”

“But it doesn’t change the fact that I took your dream away from you. You had wanted that job so badly, and I... I feel terrible everyday that I come to work.”

“Yongsun,” you command her attention immediately, meeting her sorrowful eyes, “...it’s not your fault, it never was. We both have dreamed of jobs at that place since we were freshmen. You worked just as hard as I did. I didn’t keep up to par and they did what companies do. I can’t fault you for being in the right place at the right time.”

“I should have...” Her voice trembles, “I should have done more.”

“We both were caught off guard, huh?” You ask with a sympathetic smile, reaching a hand out to touch hers. Yongsun lets a few tears fall from her eyes in response. “I’m sorry for ignoring you over it. That wasn’t cool.”

“It’s okay,” she sniffles, squeezing your hand back, “I understood why you did. I... I really love you, (Name). I don’t know what I’d do without you. I don’t want to lose you.” 

God, it had been a long time since you’d heard something like that.

You reach out to her and pull her into a tight hug, letting her hiccup into your shirt even as bystanders give you both odd looks in retaliation. You only hold her tighter. 

After a few minutes, Jungkook has exited the changing room with a few pairs of the same jeans slung over his arm, quietly assessing the situation. When it looks like Yongsun has calmed down enough, he makes his way over, “I think we’re almost all good on the clothes front. Can we stop by one more place?”

If Yongsun is confused about you paying for all of Jungkook’s clothes, she doesn’t say anything about it.

Jungkook ends up taking you to a much different store on the third floor... a very familiar one. “Jungkook...” You ask, looking at him in confusion, “you want to shop here?”

The boy grins, “It’s your favorite, isn’t it? It’s my treat.” You try to tune out the cooing that Yongsun is making in your ear from behind. 

“But I’m paying- okay.” He doesn’t let you finish your thought, dragging both you and Yongsun into the store with relative ease and dumping you off at the first rack you see. You couldn’t remember the last time you’d really treated yourself to anything nice. You rarely felt like you deserved to lavish yourself with anything back in the day, but after all you’d been through in the past few days... you can splurge a little, right?

You find yourself enjoying the moment the more you walk around, picking up pieces here and there and knowing that money was virtually no issue. You could get whatever you wanted. It was... kind of heaven, actually.

Yongsun would follow you around, dropping off things she found herself that she thought you would like. When your arms were nearly overflowing with clothes, she’d pushed you toward the changing rooms to try some of them on, urging you to show each and every one of the outfits off to her and Jungkook, and show them off you did.

You hadn’t even made a dent in the pile by the time you’d shimmied into the fifth outfit, quietly admiring your figure in the lit mirror before you. A small smile graced your face: who knew it could be this nice just doing something fun for yourself?

You smooth down the fabric of your clothing and prepare yourself to leave when you feel the room grow a little warmer behind you. Odd. You look back up in the mirror and almost scream out loud.

The not-so-strange stranger hovering behind you grabs you by the throat from behind and shoves you against the wall, making the stall shudder in response. The lights on the mirror keeping the small room lit flickered and burned out at the same time by no natural coincidence.

He was there. The beautiful man you’d passed on the street before. The one who you’d thought was from out of this world. How did he...?

“You and that angel of yours are awfully hard to get alone, you know?”

[echodrops]

The League of Villains Plays DnD AU

(Saw a post by @bunny-loverxiv last night that reminded me I’ve had this stupid thing in my drafts unfinished for over a year now. I’m not sure I’ll ever have time to come back and finish it, but in the spirit of what I posted earlier, here it is, in all its unfinished.. glory...)

Since I asked for a League of Villains plays DnD AU and no one delivered, alas, I guess I’ll just do all the work myself!

So, without further ado:

Shigaraki Tomura’s Character Sheet:

Race and Appearance: Fallen Aasimar, with hair pale as the flesh of wraiths and eyes like two burning pools of blood, reflecting out from the infernal pits of the abyss. His rippling muscles under his bone-white skin carry the scars of his uncountable victories, and when his corrupted celestial powers radiate forth, ghostly skeletal wings rise--

( “Do I have to keep reading? This is really long...”

“It’s important!”)

Alias: “Zephiroth”

(”Isn’t that the guy from Final Fantasy?”

“No! That was Sephiroth! My character’s name is totally different!”)

Class: Oath of Conquest Paladin/Hell Knight

Motto: Dim the Ray of Hope

A dread knight whose armor is black with the blood of his enemies; to stand against him on the field of battle is to know true fear, and none have called themselves his equal and lived to tell the tale. His menacing aura is a cloud of evil righteous murder that spreads across the land as he advances, and everywhere he travels is seeped into the deepest of despairs. Civilizations tremble before the darkness of his impossibly dark darkness.

(“Did you run out of adjectives?”

No, I meant exactly what I said.”)

Also, collects the severed hands of his conquests.

(”Tomura-kun, this isn’t a character, this is just you!”

“Collecting body trophies is standard lore for conquest paladin; you’d know if you read Xanathar’s Guide.”)

Alignment: Chaotic Good

(“Shigaraki Tomura, I am not sure this alignment fits with the character you’re describing--”

“I wrote the campaign, so good’s whatever I say it is.”

“Boss, doesn’t playing in your own campaign defeat the purpose? Knowing everything ahead of time’s a great idea!”

“Shut up, I don’t care about spoilers.”)

Backstory: Zephiroth the Bloody swore an oath to complete the conquest of his father, King Jenovo, who fell in battle to his eternal rival and estranged foolish younger brother, Nimbus Might ( “You know, I really think I’ve heard these names before...”). Jenovo’s quest was undoubtedly a noble one: to reunite the brothers’ separated kingdoms under a single legitimate banner--and its single legitimate ruler. The two brothers clashed in a battle of titans that shook the entire world, and though he was in the wrong, Nimbus Might reigned supreme in the end, and took Jenovo’s life and kingdom both. The death of his father crushed the last remnants of joy and love in young Prince Zephiroth’s black heart and now he will stop at nothing to put an end to Nimbus Might’s reign by turning every symbol of his false kingdom to dust.

Notable Stats and Weapon: +5 Intimidation, +5 Persuasion; greatsword and shield wielder.

Tomura is a quintessential min-maxer; he made everyone else take the standard array for stats but... “rolled” for his.

(”This old man’s been reviewing the character sheets, Shigaraki, and couldn’t help but notice some discrepancies in the party’s stats compared to yours--”

“You’re welcome to not play. Ever.”

“Must have been a trick of the light!”)

Carrying: The holy relic “Lavos”

(”Isn’t that just from Chrono Cross?”

“I think you mean, Khrono Kross, Spinny.”)

The relic is a glowing black and red container imbued with a hellish aura, containing magical bullets said to be formed from the blood of the time goddess, allowing Shigaraki to permanently unwind his opponents’ powers. Limited use, 5 times.

Dabi:

Race and Appearance: Tiefling.

(“Did you not even bother to write an appearance?!”

“My character has the same appearance as me.”

“That’s not even possible. Tieflings are supposed to have horns!”

“Okay, my character has the same appearance as me with horns.”)

Alias: “Dabi” 

(”You can’t name your character after yourself!”

“But I’m not named Dabi.”)

Class: Phoenix Sorcerer

Motto: Ashes to Ashes

(”You can’t play this class either, it isn’t canon.”

“You told me to pick one from the wiki; ain’t my problem you didn’t specify.”

“I said no homebrew!”

“And that means... what?”)

Alignment: Chaotic Evil

(”You ignored my instructions about our alignment too, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, but you said ‘good’ so I assumed I misheard.”

“We’re the protagonists of this story--our cause is just!”)

Feats and Skills: ...Hmm, for some reason, many things have been written and then crossed out?

(“W-What have you done?! You can’t just modify things however you feel! Why would you even swap out Nourishing Fire for an Elemental Affinity that deals ice damage?! And did you just scratch out ‘long rest’ and put ‘short rest’ here? That’s OP!”

“When the hell have any of you let me get a long rest?”

“Animal Handling as a skill, seriously?!”

“Figured you’d give me some monsters to tame.”

“Go fuck yourself!”

Shigaraki was, in fact, planning on there being monsters for Dabi to tame.)

Backstory: A traveler with a shadowy past.

(”That’s... your whole backstory? Are you freaking kidd--”

”Aww, come on Dabi, this bio is lame! Oh, I know, I know! You’re actually a prince in disguise, exiled from his kingdom and seeking vengeance on his father, the one who left him horrifically burned and on the brink of death, which caused you to be rescued by the soul of a lonely phoenix, and at the end of your quest, after reclaiming your rightful throne from your evil father, you free the phoenix who possessed you to save your life, but then it returns and swears its eternal love to you! Eehee!”

“We’re...not doing that.”

“You can’t do that anyways, it completely undermines my lore. There are only two kingdoms in this world, and I’m going to be the ruler of both of them.”)

Notable Stats and Weapon: +3 Deception, +4 Insight; wields darts.

(”But why do I even have to pick a weapon? It says right there I have Burning Hands.”)

Carrying: A shard of never-melting ice in the shape of a three-petaled flower; it exudes a calming chill even when wreathed in the wildest of fires. Looking at it makes you feel... melancholy?

(”Why is this the only section with detail?! If you could put this much effort in here, you should have taken the rest seriously too!”)

Mr. Compress:

Race and Appearance: Human, a man in the prime of his life, with a roguish glint in his eye and a rakish gold mustache above his mysterious smirk. There’s an artfully placed scar below his right eye that speaks to a life of the blade and adventure, and his pressed linen and metallic brocade doublet belies his nature as a man of impeccable taste. His jaunty black bandana is always pulled low over his eyes, but mischief seems to twinkle out from beneath the accompanying black mask nevertheless.

(“Oh, I like it! A lot! Hey, hey, will you rewrite mine for me? Make it like yours but cuter!”)

Alias: The Dread Pirate Roberts

(“Huh? The first part is good, but why “Roberts”?

“Well, no one would surrender to the Dread Pirate Westley.”

“What are you snickering about, Kurogiri?”

“Nothing at all, Shigaraki Tomura.”)

Class: Multi-class Swashbuckler and School of Conjuration Wizard

Motto: To the Pain!

(“These two classes don’t compliment each other at all. You should change to Hexblade at least!”

“As you wish.”

“Kurogiri’s laughing again. What are you two hiding? Tell me!”)

Mr. Compress knew full well the classes he picked didn’t mesh; he just lives for the shits and giggles. He’s actually been playing DnD longer than Toga’s been alive, but where’s the fun in telling Tomura that?

Alignment: Chaotic Neutral

Skills: Acrobatics, Persuasion, Performance, Sleight of Hand

(“Okay, but am I the only one who actually created a real character instead of a self-insert? DnD’s a role-playing game; isn’t the whole point to use your imagination?!”

“Ain’t our fault your real self is too boring to be a decent character, Lizard.”

“You never miss an opportunity to insult me, do you, asshole?!”)

Backstory: Although he came from unremarkable origins, Westley Roberts found himself thrust on to the path of great destiny when the merchant ship on which he was employed was attacked by the Dread Pirate Roberts--

“How can he attack his own ship? You forgot your own name, didn’t you?”

“Not all, Shigaraki! I’m not that old!”

--but when Roberts heard the tale of Westley’s quest to prove himself for the one he loved--

“Wait, who is this other character now? There was no love interest listed before!”

“Just let me tell the story!”

--Roberts was overcome by the depth of Westley’s tale of woe and decided to name him his successor, passing down the title of Dread Pirate Roberts--

“Can I change my character to a Dread Pirate?”

“No, Dabi!”

“I’m just sayin’, why was I not informed of this option?”

--sothathecouldmildlyterrorizethewatersaroundhishomekingdomandfinallyamasstherichesneededtoimpresshischarminglove. PHEW! Thank you for letting me finish!

Notable Stats and Weapon: +4 Dexterity, +5 Charisma; wields a rapier with impeccable skill. Is definitely not left-handed. Carrying: A Rodent of Unusual Size. Excellent distraction. Also edible.

“What is wrong with everyone in this room?!”

And the rest of the League I didn’t finish, but:

Spinner: A gorgeous lady Argonian who spits beams of pure light--

“No, this is too cool. Change it.”

“Awww come on, Shigaraki, just let me have this--”

“Change it.”

Toga: Tabaxi assassin. ON A QUEST FOR LOVE. (May or may not have decided this after peering over Mr. Compress’s shoulder during character creation time.)

Twice: Halfling wizard. None of his stats make sense because he couldn’t make up his mind where to put them.

Hawks: Aarakochra bard. Entirely useless. That asshole who rolls to seduce everything.

Kurogiri: The DM. But not by choice.

There’s no Giran or Gigantomachia because I started writing this before either of them were really “part” of the League. Use your imaginations~

[ramblings-of-a-mad-cat]

I just finished remembrance (and it's pretty good! ) but I was wondering if you could give some headcanons as to what happened there. How do Penny, Luca & Rowan do as professors? Pip? How exactly did Chiara go through hell? (Hunted for being a half-breed?Lost more loved ones due to that?) Any night terrors or PTSD from the lot? How're the badgers after all that? How do the characters move on with their lives? Is Merula living as a hit witch? Chiara at St. Mungo's? Sorry I'm just really curious..

Before I go any further, I want to thank you so much for asking, anon! And I’d like to thank you for your kind words, and for showing interest. It always gives me a good feeling to know that someone is curious. As for how I see the future playing out, I talk about it a fair bit in this post right here, mostly concerning Gail, but I’m delighted to go into head-canons about your questions. 

One thing that I’ve been feeling more and more that Luca wouldn’t actually do, is teach Defense Against the Dark Arts. I think I was in a mindset of “There’s no other subject left” because I didn’t want to just say that Hagrid was retiring from teaching Care of Magical Creatures after all of four years. But in hindsight, I still want Harry James Potter in the D.A.D.A. job. But I think Luca would become a kind of makeshift therapist or guidance counselor for the Hogwarts students. Someone who could listen and help them figure things out, because they sure would have liked someone to do that for them when they were in school. As far as Penny and Rowan, I can’t say that I have too many head-canons other than that they would both be splendid at their jobs. Rowan has wanted to teach since they were a young child, and goodness me, Penny would be a breath of fresh air for most students after Snape. And as much as I love Slughorn, he was a little exclusive. Penny would rectify that. 

Pip was indeed adopted into the Trouble Trio’s big ol’ family. I talk about her a lot more in this post, but I can imagine her mouthing off to Aurelia and Nigel if they ever say or do something that’s a little dated, shall we say - they’re still learning how to be woke, bless their hearts. I think she would get into constant mischief and, despite being the closest to Merula, she’d have more in common with Tulip than anyone else. Really, the end-game here is that Luca is like the BBC version of John Watson. A softie who is drawn to all the chaos aligned folk, and their adoptive daughter is no different. 

I think Chiara’s status as a Half-Breed is what really made the second wizarding war and that entire time period such hell. We know from what Remus went through in the books, that it wouldn’t have been easy. We know the Umbridge was able to pass Anti-Werewolf laws. Call it the influence of Jae’s lawlessness, or just call it common sense, but Chiara never submitted herself to the Registry. Thus I imagine she was constantly on the move, trying to avoid the Werewolves who had gone to Voldemort, similar to how Slughorn kept moving around so that the Death Eaters would not try to recruit him. I also think that Chiara lost a number of people during the war. That one or both of her parents were killed. Perhaps something with Selina. I also alluded to Jae and Chiara breaking up a few times, which they did, and I think that can be traced back to Chiara’s nature, in how she pushes people away when she feels like they shouldn’t be caught up in her problems. But...I also think Jae crossed a line, here and there. He may have done dealings with death eaters, to keep himself on peaceful terms with them. Sure, it kept him and Chiara alive, but it’s still helping them. What’s more, he became an informant for the Ministry, which as we know was exceedingly corrupt in the last few years. He was ordered to submit the names of all werewolves he knew. Sure, it would have looked suspicious to deny knowing any at all...but these are still human beings, and part of the minority that Chiara is in. Of course he never named her, but he named others. I think it may take time for Chiara to forgive him for that, even if she understands why he had to. 

There is most certainly a lot of trauma to go around with the badger squad, but they have each other and that’s what matters. If we want, we could even say that Chiara left St. Mungo’s and became Madam Pomfrey’s successor so that she could be closer to her oldest friends. Just an idea. I think out of everyone, Penny and Chiara were the most torn up about Tonks. It’s in Penny’s nature to collapse when something like this happens, and given everything that Chiara has been through, it was just one loss too many. It would time and healing for them to all be okay. But I also believe that they move on with their lives. Luca and their partners raise Pippa Scruff, and Luca carries Jacob with them in their heart. Rowan and Diego return to live in Britain and I think that makes both of them a lot happier, especially since Rowan gets to be near their friends and feel less like they’re a failure at socializing. I also feel like the badger squad is able to heal by pouring themselves into their new careers, and helping aid the little ones. Meanwhile, Tulip is doing what she loves, with the people she loves by her side. So while she also took Tonks’  death really hard, she’s got a kid now. A kid who is just like her. That’s got to provide some distraction and serotonin. 

Meanwhile, I’m not sure if Merula would remain a Hit Witch. Luca and Tulip were never happy about it, for the same reason any significant other isn’t happy about their loved one going into a career that involves guns, and potential death. They want Merula to be happy, but they also want her to be safe. Following the Battle of Hogwarts, Merula might choose to leave that career for the sake of her partners. Because the risk would just become too much for them to live with. I’m not sure where she would go from there. But I have an idea. My head-canon for Beatrice is that she eventually becomes an Unspeakable. If Merula is looking for a new career, well...that also kinda seems like it would be right up her alley. Beatrice could owl her and offer to make a recommendation. 

Again, thank you so much for the message, and thank you for checking out my work! (Psst, shameless self plug, Accordance returns tomorrow, everyone!) 

[marshmallow-phd]

Innocent Intentions

Part of The Untamed - EXO Wolf Universe

Genre: Supernatural, Wolf Au

Pairing: Tao x Reader

Summary: There was one thing you couldn’t stand in all your years at college: playboys. And the campus was riddled with them. So when Tao - a player with a particularly well-known reputation - inserts himself into your life, you come up with a plan to get rid of him, whether he makes your heart race or not. But the more he’s the around, the more you just might find there’s a hidden layer underneath all the rumors, including a secret you never could have guessed….

Part: 1 I 2 I 3 I 4 I 5 I 6 I 7 I 8 I 9 I 10 I 11 I 12 I 13 I 14 I Final

**

Tao stared after you as you ran out of the courtyard. His wolf growled and barked at him to follow you, to beg you to reconsider, but he couldn’t do that. He couldn’t force you to change your mind. Your loyalty to your friend – your selfish, childish best friend – was too strong. His despair started turning into anger. And that wild emotion was directed at a single person.

He didn’t know her schedule like he knew yours, but he did know what she smelled like, especially after their earlier confrontation, and with his focused so tuned in, finding that familiar scent was like figuring out simple addition problems.

Kendall was sitting at one of the long study tables in the library. She flipped through a textbook silently while the final member of the trio – Wyatt – whispered harshly beside her.

“Stop ignoring me, Kendall. You know I’m right.”

“I don’t care. What she did was wrong and you know it.”

“She handled it wrong. But getting feelings for the guy doesn’t fall under that same category.”

“I highly agree.” Tao sat down in the empty seat across from Kendall, his eyes conveying the chaotic fire roaring inside. Gone were the tears and the sorrow. Now he was just down right pissed.

Kendall’s eyes widened in surprise only for second before her face fell back into a stone cold indifference. She folded her arms over her chest and leaned back in the chair. “What do you want, Tao?”

He scowled at her. “To know why the hell you feel so damn entitled to dictate other people’s relationships.”

“I don’t feel entitled to anything,” she spat back. “But best friends don’t go behind each other’s backs and date ex’s.”

That just made him roll his eyes with a scoff. “We’re hardly ex’s. We went on one mediocre date. I explained to you that I simply didn’t feel anything for you.”

“Also that you saw (y/n) and… how did you put it?” She clicked her tongue mockingly. “Something just clicked? Like the heavens split open and the choir began sing?”

No, it’s wasn’t quite that mystical, but the universe did align itself into perfect sync. The way it all happened was hard to describe to other wolves who knew to expect it. Explaining it to a measly human who would never understand was just wasted effort. “Sometimes you just know,” was his basic summary.

Kendall scoffed. “You just knew? You didn’t even know her. And (y/n) doesn’t exactly fit the description of girls you’ve been with in the past. She’s not your type at all.”

“Having a type and refusing to look beyond it will just end with you alone,” Tao countered. “So, yes, I found someone different and fell completely in love with her. And she was falling for me, too. Was seeing your friend happy really that bad?”

“With you? With the guy that I had stupidly fallen for myself despite knowing the asshole you were? Yes.”

Tao was disgusted. This ice princess that he’d once found cute and alluring was causing him to burn.  “I may have been an asshole in the past, but I wasn’t like that with (y/n). You, though? You’re the real asshole, Kendall. Because you took your best friend’s happiness. You made her cry. You broke her heart. And for what? Revenge? So no one could ‘have me’?” Kendall opened her mouth to retaliate, but Tao wouldn’t have any of it. “No. Don’t even bother. I don’t care what your reasoning was. If you actually cared about your best friend, you would have let her be happy. Be mad that she didn’t tell you. Fine. But making her end it with me was crossing a line.” He stood up from the table, determined. “I’m not giving up on her.”

As he was walking away, Tao heard Wyatt whisper, “I told you. The look in (y/n)’s eyes when she talked about him outshined yours by miles. Now you’ve got him on the war path. All I can say is good luck.”

The scraping of a chair against the old wood floor told Tao that Wyatt, too, was walking out on his friend. Tao smirked. She did this to herself.

But the smugness melted away the second he was outside again. As much as he wanted to, he couldn’t go banging on your door, begging you to let him in. First, he would give Kendall a chance to fix her mess. That could be the simple solution to all of this. He also wanted to give you space, let your overwhelmed emotions work themselves out before he tried to reason with you.

Knowing he wouldn’t be able to concentrate in class, Tao decided to just head back home. He’d be scolded by Evie if she was around for skipping class, but he’d take it. Even though she wasn’t the oldest mate, she had a tendency to mother everyone like she was. Guess it came with the territory of having a baby.

Tao drove slower than normal, taking his time and stretching out the trip to the farmhouse, adding about fifteen minutes or so onto the average time it took to get home. When he walked in through the door, Evie was sitting on the couch, scribbling furiously on a notepad while Mei occupied herself on the floor with a miniature piano. Rather than getting lectured like he expected, Evie looked up at him with relief.

“Oh, thank god,” she cried out, exasperated. Jumping up to her feet, she scooped her purse up from the floor by her feet and hurried up to Tao. “Please tell me you’re staying around for a good while. I need to run to the store for supplies and the last time I took Mei, she had a complete breakdown and that is not stress I need right now and-”

“I’ll watch Mei.” The desperateness was practically beaming out of Evie’s eyes like Superman’s heat vision. As much as they all loved Mei, she was still a baby and she wasn’t giggles and cute smiles twenty-four-seven. But he was alright with being the babysitter for the day. Tao needed the distraction.

Evie planted a kiss on Tao’s cheek. “Thank you.” She headed for the door and left without further instructions.

With a heavy sigh, Tao laid down on the floor on his stomach. “What are you playing there, Mei-Mei?”

She ignored her uncle, too focused using her whole hand to press down on the keys and make some sort of random melody.. It was, however, a little pleasing to the ear considering it was composed by a nine-month-old. Looked like Mei might have some natural talent. Funny, considering neither of her parents could play the piano to save their lives. So where did this genius come from?

“Mei-Mei, can I play something for you?”

To his amazement, Mei looked up at him with wide, curious eyes. She had her dad’s eyes that just made Tao laugh. Pushing himself up to a sitting position, he moved Mei into his lap. At first she let out small protesting whines, but when he placed the small keyboard in both of their laps, she calmed down and watched as his own fingers danced across the instrument. Occasionally, she’d try to replicate the notes that sang from the cheap speaker of the toy, but for most of the time she sat there and listened to the song that Tao had played for you that night at the playground. So much for a distraction.

Tao was left alone with Mei for several hours, playing the part of the good uncle. He fed her around noon and even did the dirty work of changing the soiled diapers. A lot of the other guys ran from the room as soon as that signaling smell was noticeable.

Only a handful of times did he slip up and think about what it would be like with you and him as parents of your own children. It was a melancholy feeling, one that he hoped would someday no longer have the sadness attached to it.

Evie finally came back to the house while Mei was down for her afternoon nap. She apologized profusely about the length of time that she was away, but Tao waved it off. Time with his niece was… well, not exactly what he needed, but it certainly did help.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Evie offered as the two of them put away the groceries in the kitchen.

Tao shrugged. “I don’t think there’s much to talk about. Everything was going great and then it went to shit.”

Evie closed the cabinet that contained the canned goods, folding her arms over her chest leaning against the counter. “Kris said you’d spent the weekend with your mate. Did something happen?”

Tao kept his focus on placing the boxes of macaroni and rice in their proper places. “Her best friend made her break up with me.”

“Wait. Why?”

Releasing a sigh, Tao looked over at her. “Because I went out on one stupid date with her and I guess she had feelings for me that ran a little deep and now she’s on some stupid rampage of ‘if she can’t have me than neither can (y/n)’. I can’t figure out if going on that date was the worst mistake of my life or if I still wouldn’t have met (y/n) yet if I hadn’t gone out that night.”

“That is… one complicated situation,” Evie said sympathetically. “One with, unfortunately, no quick solution. Friendships are sticky. But from what Kris has told me, she’s a fighter. I mean, she fought against her feelings for you for a good while. Trust me, once you give into those feelings for your wolf, they’re nearly impossible to ignore. She’ll come back to you. Just give her some time.”

Tao could only nod back in reply. He didn’t want to give it time. He knew he had to, but he wanted you back in his arms now.

Evie patted his shoulder before moving over to the oven. “Why don’t you help me get started on dinner? I’m thinking soup might be easiest.”

Rolling his eyes, Tao turned around and began taking down the necessary pots from the cabinets. Of course, on the day he decides to take the day off from school for his emotional wellbeing, he’s put to work.

**

You didn’t move from the couch the entire day. While the TV played whatever was just on, you lied there on your side, face pressed against the throw pillow. You were sure there’d be a pattern imprinted into your skin when you finally got up, but you didn’t care. What was the point?

God, you hated yourself. You could hardly believe that you’d broken Tao so much that tears rolled down his cheeks. Sure, you’d seen him cry just a few days before, but this time it was your fault. Part of you – a huge majority of you, actually – was hoping he’d show up at your door. What could you do when he was on your doorstep, begging for you to change your mind besides take him back?

But that doorbell never rang and you never heard a knock or footsteps echoing down from your roof. So you were alone in that big house, needing someone to talk to, to help you understand why you were thrown into this predicament and why you were forced to choose between your best friend and Tao.

Suddenly, the front door clicked like the turning of the lock and swung open.

“Mom?” You sat up off the couch, watching in disbelief as your parents struggled to get inside with their luggage.

“Hi, sweetie,” she smiled at you. Your father gave you a mumbled greeting before going upstairs. His face was a concerning shade of green, but that was an afterthought as you jumped up off the couch and ran to your mother.

“What are you doing back so early?”

Your mother sighed and looked up at the stairs before turning back to you. “Your father got sick so we came home early. He’s going to lie down for a little bit.” Her maternal instincts kicking in, she narrowed her eyes as she studied your face. Were your eyes still red and puffy after all these hours? “Honey, is something wrong?”

Once more becoming a blubbering mess, you threw yourself in her embrace, unable to answer her verbally. For a minute or two, she just held you, patting your head and letting you cry it out without bombarding you with questions that you couldn’t reply to. When your tears started to dry out again, she led you into the kitchen. After sitting you down at the island, she immediately got to work heating up a kettle of water and searching the cabinets for the best tea to make for this situation.

Only when she had a cup steaming in front of you did she finally sit down across from you, mom mode on high. “Now, tell me what happened.”

You took a deep breath and cleared your throat. “Do you remember the guy I told you about?”

“The playboy?” she clarified with a playfully crooked smile. You couldn’t believe you managed something resembling a short laugh at that.

“Yeah,” you nodded. “Although, he’s not like that. Not at all. He’s sweet and compassionate and he listens to me-” You needed to be careful in this conversation. If you continued talking about how amazing Tao was, you’d make yourself cry all over again. “I just really fell for him.”

A knowing grin crept across your mother’s face. “I had a feeling you might. But what happened?”

You took a sip of your tea, still hot and burning against your tongue, but your throat welcomed the warm liquid. “Well, he kind of went out on a date with Kendall. Before we ever met!” Your mother had opened her mouth comment, so you rushed to save Tao’s reputation in her eyes. “They never went out again after that, so I figured it didn’t matter. But….”

“But Kendall still had feelings for him,” your mother finished for you.

You nodded again. “And I didn’t tell her about me and Tao because I wanted to know if it would even go anywhere first, but she saw us together over the weekend.” No need to explain exactly where she saw you. No matter how distraught you were in the moment, your parents wouldn’t appreciate you having someone over and spending the night without their knowledge. “She was upset – like really upset. I didn’t know how much she liked him before, she never told me. And so, she… kind of made me break up with him….”

A flash of anger ignited in your mother’s eyes. “She made you break up with him?”

“She didn’t out right say ‘break up with him’,” you clarified. Admittedly, you were a little worried at your mother’s reaction. She’d disliked one of your friends in the past and... well, it wasn’t pretty, to say the least. “But when I said that I would, she just nodded and walked away.”

“Why did you ever say that you would say that you would break up with him if you didn’t want to?”

“I don’t know,” you whined with a shrug. “Kendall was crying and freaking out and I just panicked. But,” sighing, you picked at the chipping paint on the old mug, “I was kind of hoping she’d say I didn’t have to.”

“Honey, look at me.”

You did, surprised at how your mother’s expression had softened.

She reached out to you, cupping your chin with her delicate fingers before dropping them back down on the counter. “I know you might think I hadn’t noticed, but I could tell something was going on with that boy after you told me about him. You were happier. Now, I will never say you need another person to make you happy, but there was a spring in your step and you smiled without even thinking about it. And if Kendall was really your friend, then she’d understand. She’d respect where both your and Tao’s feelings really lie. I know there’s the girl code, but it’s a two way street. If she really cared about you, then she’d let you be happy. So let yourself be happy, sweetheart. If she can’t understand that her jealousy shouldn’t come before your happiness, then she’s not a friend worth having. No matter how long that friendship has lasted until now.”

Her words hit you harder than you’d expected. You were wrestling with yourself once again. Kendall was the one who’d always stood by you, was always your best friend. But your mother was right. Including the times she didn’t know about, you’d constantly put Kendall before your own wishes. You always conceded to her, gave in to what she wanted. And you knew. You knew that you wouldn’t be able to just forget about Tao. You needed to know how far the two of you could go, if you could make it the rest of your lives. So Kendall would just have to live with your decision. If this was the end of your friendship, then it was the end. At least Tao took your feelings into consideration. And you couldn’t live with this gigantic “What If” hanging over your head forever.

Hopping off the bar stool, you rounded the island and threw your arms around your mother’s neck. “Thank you.”

“Of course,” she chuckled. “That’s what I’m here for.”

Yes. This was what she was here for. And the universe seemed to be on your side, bringing her home just when you needed her the most. Maybe this was a sign that you and Tao were meant to be after all.

**

Tao was in a daze when he woke up Tuesday morning. He could hardly believe what had happened the night before. He was simply helping Evie get started on dinner one second and then the next Lanie was running into the kitchen, saying that Junmyeon had captured the hunter. Both of them rushed to turn off the burners and followed Lanie out to the garage. Sure enough, a vaguely familiar-looking woman was tied to a chair, just waking up from unconsciousness.

To hone in his own anger towards the hunter, Tao stayed quiet and near the back of the crowd. When Baekhyun recognized the woman as Hae In’s cousin, Tao’s anger flared up even more. That just engorged the betrayal. Minseok wasn’t around – probably resting since he still wore out easily – and that might have been a good thing.

Luhan showed up soon after that and things just went from bad to worse. Tao was stunned in a statue-like shock when it was revealed that the hunter was Luhan’s mate… and he knew about her the whole time.

When they eventually got Kris to calm down and shift back into his human form, they all headed inside – minus the newly revealed couple – and, well, no one really knew what to feel. Anger, hurt, shock, and confusion were just a few of the emotions brewing in the air.

Some of the mates finished up dinner, but no one was really hungry, which was a first. They were all forced to eat while trying to wrestle with the fact that Luhan had essentially lied to all of them for weeks. Even though he refused to acknowledge it, Tao could understand, on a minute scale, at least. Wolves were quick to hatred when it came to hunters and for good reason. It wasn’t like the hunters gave the wolves a chance to show they were harmless on the first meeting. But the one in the garage? She seemed to really care for Luhan, enough to betray her family. And so Tao couldn’t hate her.

He could, however, be extremely pissed off at the mates who decided to drug the whole pack in order to let the hunter escape.

Still groggy and tired after waking up from the forced sleep that after Junmyeon told Luhan that the pack wouldn’t be going after his runaway mate, Tao dragged himself towards the stairs to go collapse on his bed and slip into dreamland once again. But a new conversation was starting up, catching his attention.  

“What if she doesn’t succeed in deleting the files?” Kimberly asked. Jongin shushed her in a way that was probably supposed to be comforting, but she swatted his hand away.

“We’ll have to be ready for a fight,” Kris answered bluntly.

Lanie smirked cockily. “Sweet.”

“No,” Chanyeol bellowed out, making several of the other mates jump. “Whatever happens, you’re staying out of it.”

“Since when do you order me around?” Lanie crossed her arms defiantly. She stared Chanyeol down with her usual tough look. On an average day, it made the tall wolf back down and give in to her, but not this time.

“You’re not fighting against hunters where you could be killed.”

“We’re not useless, you know.” Of course Hae In would be right there with Lanie in wanted to get in on the battle.

Ji Yeon, ever the rational one, stepped in. “I think they’re right, guys. I hardly doubt we’re equipped to handle trained killers.”

“Not to mention, I have heard of instances where they’ve used the mates as bait for the wolves,” Yixing added in. “We won’t let that happen to any of you.”

Bait?

Tao swallowed, images of you tied up with a gun to your head or beaten or tied up flashed in his mind. No. He couldn’t let that happen to you. They couldn’t find out about you to use you against him.

Conflict arose in him. He wanted you back and he wanted you with him, but if Luhan’s mate failed and the hunters sent someone else to scope them out before attacking, they could find out about you, find out that you’re a mate. Maybe you breaking up with him today was the universe’s perfect timing. That could keep you safe. He needed to keep you safe. So, for now, until this crisis was over, he’d have to live without you.

Making it up the rest of the way to the second floor, Tao shut himself in his room.

Now it was six in the morning. He felt like death incarnate, but he couldn’t go back to sleep. Sehun was snoring away on the other side of the room, cuddling his body pillow close to his chest. Tao snorted at the sight before dragging his feet to the bathroom down the hall. Since the house was still asleep, Tao took his time in the shower, waking himself up with the cool water that bounced off his skin in little droplets. Back in the room, he closed the door to the walk-in closet before turning on the light and getting dressed for the day. It didn’t matter that his first class wasn’t for several more hours, he headed out anyway, unable to stay still.

With nothing else to do, he sat at one of the stone tables in the courtyard. He stared off at nothing, just letting all the confusing thoughts bounce around in his head. He still missed you.

To give himself a little piece of you again, he took out his phone and stared at the picture he’d snuck of you back at the knickknack shop where you’d found that silly hat. Maybe he should go back and buy it for you. It’d be a nice present once he was able to be with you again. He still liked the matching jacket idea, but the smile on your face when you put on the hat was like staring at the full moon for him and he wanted to see it again.

“Tao?”

His heart leapt in his throat. Was he hearing things now?

Looking around, he’d somehow missed all the students arriving on campus to begin the school day. Behind him, you stood in the grass, fidgeting with the straps of your bag. Tao slowly rose to his feet.

“Yes, (y/n)?”

You scratched your arms nervously. “Um… about what I said yesterday-”

“You were right.”

You weren’t expected that. Wide, confused eyes stared up him and he just wanted to pull you in close to his chest, kiss the top of your head and drag you away from here. He wanted you to say that you wanted to be with him and let it all go. But he forced him to stay planted, to stay firm in his decision. If he survived this latest trial, he’d make up it up to you for the rest of your lives.

“I-I don’t understand?”

“You were right to break up with me,” Tao clarified, the lie feeling like acid on his tongue. No. It was wrong. Oh, so utterly wrong.

You shook your head feverishly. “No, I wasn’t, Tao. I shouldn’t have let Kendall dictate my life. I’m sorry. Please, let me fix my mistake.”

God, this hurt more than when he got hurt fighting against the hybrid pack. Even if it was fake and temporary, it didn’t ease the pain at all. How many of his brothers could say that they were the ones rejecting their mate? He needed to get out of here. Fast. “It wasn’t a mistake. And you were right the first time. I’m not good. I’m not good for you. So… just move on.”

Still not believing him, you reached out and took ahold of his jacket sleeve. Pleading, you whispered, “Okay. You’ve had your payback now. So, please, Tao. Please, don’t do this. Let me fix this.”

For a few seconds, he just stared at the place where your fingers clung to him. His body was screaming him to reach out and slip his fingers through yours, but instead, he pushed on your hand, making you let go. You were going to hate him. Once he finally told you the truth, you were going to scream, punch, and kick at him. And he hoped that you would. Because he deserved it after saying one little word that would shatter your heart.

“No.”

He walked away in the same way you left him the day before. Except he had no ill thoughts towards you as you ran away with tears in your eyes. You, though, were probably wishing you’d never met him.

Why was he such a coward? There had to be a better option than this, right? He could find another way to protect you and besides, there was a chance the hunters wouldn’t really come here, wasn’t there?

Before he could make his feet turn around, however, his phone rang. It was Kris.

“Hello?”

“Tao? We’ve got an issue.”

The blonde wolf rolled his eyes. It seemed like their lives were just one issue after another. “What’s it this time?”

“Luhan’s gone. He went after his mate.”

Tao froze. No. No, no, no, no. Damn it!

“I’m headed back right now.”

Hanging on the alpha, he ran towards his car. Luhan was an idiot. But Tao was about to be an idiot right back. He was going to follow the damn fool, whether Junmyeon approved it or not. The only thing that would stop him would be if Kris imposed his authority over him. Even then, Tao might have to fight. Then, when he came back, he’d be begging on his knees for your forgiveness.

[stevenuniversallyreviews]

Episode 116: Gem Heist

“We won’t stand out if we play the roles we were made for.”

There’s nothing like a good heist. You’d think a plot with such a consistent formula (build a team, go over a plan, execute the plan and adapt to its inevitable failures) would get stale, but consider for a moment that Inception and Fast Five premiered within a year of each other, and are both heists following the same general beats, but they’re fully different experiences. I’m not gonna say which one is better, but only one of them has a car chase where a car is chained to a giant safe and uses it like a wrecking ball, so.

In some ways, Gem Heist drops the ball on what I want from a heist: there’s barely a planning stage, and the team is already together, so it’s all about the execution and the wrenches thrown at our heroes. But while it’s hardly the caper I hoped for from the title, I can’t help but admire how it takes the tropes associated with heists and uses them to comment on Gem society.

A heist is all about specialists with clear jobs. Safecrackers, getaway drivers, demolitions experts, con artists, the whole point is getting a bunch of talented people who are each essential to the group. This element is only briefly touched upon in the traditional sense in Gem Heist, with Steven referring to Pearl as “our hacker,” but in its place, our heroes must succeed by putting themselves into the very roles they escaped by becoming Crystal Gems. Sapphire is a wise advisor and Ruby a disposable bodyguard, and the two must be separated. Amethyst must be huge. Pearl must be lowly servant. And Steven, who can’t exactly take the leadership position of his Gem parent, must play the dumb human.

This conceit drives the episode and makes it unexpectedly solid in terms of characterization, given how bland its plot ends up being. This is basically an episode about walking through a hallway, and instead of a third act we just get two minutes transitioning Steven to the Zoo that could’ve been spent in our next episode (or heavily cut). Even Adventures in Light Distortion feels more meaningful from a sheer plotting standpoint, and that was literally just getting the Crystal Gems from Point A to B. But because of how fascinating the characters are to watch when forced into the positions they’d be stuck in had they not rebelled, I’m able to enjoy what would otherwise be a slog of an episode.

The surprise lead of Gem Heist is Sapphire, who takes charge of the situation right away and finally shines on her own. Ruby got a head start in Jailbreak in terms of screentime, and takes up more room when the two are together thanks to her louder personality, and has a whole squad of counterparts to define herself against, so I love seeing a focus on Garnet’s quiet half. 

Sapphire’s serene baseline is portrayed so well by Erica Luttrell that she’s often played comically straight (her casually agreeing to call Steven “Esteban” is a great example here), but we already know from Keystone Motel that she’s more than just her calmness. It’s great to see her lose her cool so early in the episode, putting up a confident front while planning but getting frazzled with its inevitable failure before the team even disembarks. I wouldn’t quite call her a ham in the way Ruby and Peridot can be, but her overacting while narrating her activities to warn her friends of danger is wonderful. And of course, she gifts us with the universe’s cutest wink.

Charlyne Yi always brings a lot to the table as Ruby, and while she’s had more to do than Luttrell after Hit the Diamond, this is the first time since then that she’s voiced our Ruby. The line of the night is her furious declaration that Blue Diamond “hates fusion and love?”—it’s such a horrible thought that Ruby treats it like a question rather than a statement, because how hating something as good as love even possible? Still, Ruby’s bigger highlight is all in the animation as she runs up a locked door, claws at it while screaming, and admits defeat when this doesn’t immediately work.

Pearl also benefits from the visuals, which portray her humiliations in ways Deedee Magno Hall can’t in the moment due to her needing to be quiet. Which isn’t to say Magno Hall doesn’t do a lot with what she’s given, going from embarrassed and deferential around Holly Blue Agate to pissed off while alone with the Crystal Gems. And while Amethyst is the first Crystal Gem to go, Michaela Dietz picks up the baton from Yi and Magno Hall to play other amethysts; it’s neat to hear her turn down the playfulness for gruffness without completely removing the prankster edge from her voice. And what we do see from Amethyst is a reasonable amount of nervousness around a first encounter with her peers, which pays off wonderfully in That Will Be All (as does the actual sentence “That will be all” that Pearl will soon get the chance to redirect).

Steven is surprisingly low-key here, all things considered, but I suppose with all the focus he gets in the first two episodes of this arc, as well as our next one, it makes sense to look more deeply at the Gems; after all, they’re the ones who were born into an oppressive class structure that they must temporarily return to (give or take an Amethyst, but she still has plenty of issues stemming from societal expectations). He’s got some decent jokes, and dominates the last part of the episode when separated from the Gems, but the last part of the episode is so boring that I don’t really care. 

Still, none of these characters would have the chance to shine without Holly Blue Agate, who comes in hot and seems physically incapable of chilling the hell out. Christine Pedi voices Holly in just two episodes of the original series, but boy does she know how to leave a mark. After seeing Homeworld loyalists from the bottom of the totem pole in Peridot and the rubies, a Homeworld loyalist who’s a known hero in Jasper, and two leaders of Homeworld in Yellow and Blue Diamond, we encounter perhaps the worst kind of zealot: middle management.

Holly Blue Agate is the Dolores Umbridge of Steven Universe. She’s not given the stage to become main villain material, but she sure knows how to be the most detestable kind of miniboss we could hope for. She’s a shameless sycophant whose worship of Gems she considers superior is matched only by her disdain for those she sees as beneath her, but because she actually has some authority, she’s able to be far more tyrannical than the likes of Peridot. She’s hardcore lawful evil on the classic alignment chart, but if we allow for variation to the classics, I’d consider her more petty evil than anything.

With one character, we personify the entire toxic class structure that the Crystal Gems were born to defy. And with every word, Holly Blue proves that our heroes were correct to abandon this caste system. She’s flippant in her physical abuse, and wears her bigotry as a point of pride, taking glee in enforcing the inferiority of every Gem around her but Sapphire, who earns the same kind of swooning she applies to Blue Diamond. This is all performed under the thin disguise of politeness, because again, this is Umbridge we’re dealing with. She yells that there’s no yelling allowed, then gets mad when an amethyst corrects herself by being too quiet. She either pretends to not understand human speech or genuinely doesn’t get that Steven is talking (I could get into a whole thing about the necessity of an unrealistic translator for the Gems, but first off they’re magic so unrealistic things are fine, and second off what’s clearly more important here is Holly’s attitude).

It’s almost a shame we don’t get more of Holly Blue, because she may be loathsome, but she’s the compelling kind of loathsome that makes an excellent villain. Aquamarine is similar in feigned sweetness and cruelty, but Holly lacks that Cartman-inspired awareness of how miserable she is, which makes her less extreme and more relatable to real-life monsters in our daily lives who are blind to their own awfulness. At least she gets one more episode to be horrible and receive some decent comeuppance for her behavior in Gem Heist.

As I’ve said, the actual story here is pretty dull. We get some hints at lore, as it’s now pretty clear that the Era 2 referred to by Peridot was separated from Era 1 by the death of Pink Diamond. We get further indirect characterization of Blue Diamond with Holly Blue Agate’s praise and Ruby and Sapphire’s scorn. And the final sequence, while feeling tacked on, at least gets some neat usage out of what looks like the same tech as Peridot’s gone-but-not-forgotten robofingers. But if not for the stark reminder of why the Crystal Gems’ ability to decide their lives is important, this would be one of the least consequential episodes of the series. Plenty of episodes have great characterization, this is Steven Universe after all, but most of those also bring more to the table.

I’ve never been to this…how do you say…school?

Second episode since Gem Harvest to feature the Floridoverse as the main promo, and while it’s a little unclear whether this is another Floridoverse promo where a new adult character is portrayed as a teacher (Holly’s uniform vaguely resembles Greg’s and Ruby’s) I’m gonna go ahead and hope the intent is for her to be a student because man, that vibe on a peer is in some ways even worse than on a superior.

We’re the one, we’re the ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR!

Lousy plotting really knocks this one down, considering how great an actual heist could’ve been, but the character work barely scrapes this from an episode I don’t care about to one I enjoy. It straddles the line between Like ‘em and Enh, but I’ll be nice this time.

Top Twenty

Steven and the Stevens

Hit the Diamond

Mirror Gem

Lion 3: Straight to Video

Alone Together

Last One Out of Beach City

The Return

Jailbreak

The Answer

Mindful Education

Sworn to the Sword

Rose’s Scabbard

Earthlings

Mr. Greg

Coach Steven

Giant Woman

Beach City Drift

Winter Forecast

Bismuth

Steven’s Dream

Love ‘em

Laser Light Cannon

Bubble Buddies

Tiger Millionaire

Lion 2: The Movie

Rose’s Room

An Indirect Kiss

Ocean Gem

Space Race

Garnet’s Universe

Warp Tour

The Test

Future Vision

On the Run

Maximum Capacity

Marble Madness

Political Power

Full Disclosure

Joy Ride

Keeping It Together

We Need to Talk

Chille Tid

Cry for Help

Keystone Motel

Catch and Release

When It Rains

Back to the Barn

Steven’s Birthday

It Could’ve Been Great

Message Received

Log Date 7 15 2

Same Old World

The New Lars

Monster Reunion

Alone at Sea

Crack the Whip

Beta

Back to the Moon

Kindergarten Kid

Buddy’s Book

Gem Harvest

Three Gems and a Baby

Like ‘em

Gem Glow

Frybo

Arcade Mania

So Many Birthdays

Lars and the Cool Kids

Onion Trade

Steven the Sword Fighter

Beach Party

Monster Buddies

Keep Beach City Weird

Watermelon Steven

The Message

Open Book

Story for Steven

Shirt Club

Love Letters

Reformed

Rising Tides, Crashing Tides

Onion Friend

Historical Friction

Friend Ship

Nightmare Hospital

Too Far

Barn Mates

Steven Floats

Drop Beat Dad

Too Short to Ride

Restaurant Wars

Kiki’s Pizza Delivery Service

Greg the Babysitter

Gem Hunt

Steven vs. Amethyst

Bubbled

Adventures in Light Distortion

Gem Heist (barely!)

Enh

Cheeseburger Backpack

Together Breakfast

Cat Fingers

Serious Steven

Steven’s Lion

Joking Victim

Secret Team

Say Uncle

Super Watermelon Island

Gem Drill

Know Your Fusion

Future Boy Zoltron

No Thanks!

     6. Horror Club      5. Fusion Cuisine      4. House Guest      3. Onion Gang      2. Sadie’s Song      1. Island Adventure

[echoeternally]

Which Mario characters would be, as Watership Down Characters, and vice versa?

You know, I took some time to think about this one today, and I’ve got to admit, for my tastes, I can’t think of a feasible way that this works out. And it’s for a few reasons that kind of get me hung up.

Honestly, I think it comes down to at least four pretty divisive factors that keep them from being compared on an equal scale, and adds a terribly heightened challenge to it all. These would be: gender ratios (A), inconsistent characterizations (B), mismatching personalities ©, and cast prominence (D).

Obviously, it’s a lot to get into, so, I’ll include that in a portion below the cut. If you keep going, I’ll try to properly explain why it’s not just a clear-cut question to answer for this one.

A) First, gender ratios, which can be worked around based solely on personality, but still glares out big time. Watership Down has some female characters on the roster, but they tend to matter little comparatively. Hell, there are multiple characters that started as male that were later swapped to female roles in later adaptations. It’s good, and shows that the role can be played by a character, not a gender. But it’s also a reminder that the original work is dated in its viable female cast. By contrast, Mario has a nice number, and they stand out a lot better, each with unique and distinct roles, personalities, and general flavors that they add. They’re fun and dynamic, a highlight to see.

B) This actually leads into the next point, though, which would be the inconsistent characterizations. Both franchises kind of mess around with how their characters are portrayed and what they do. Sure, you get the basics well enough with the major characters: Hazel’s the brave hero leader, Mario tends to be that too. Fiver’s the timid younger brother, so is Luigi.

But it gets weirder the further down the cast list you go. Bowser’s the big bad guy, but depending on his role as the main villain or not, he can either be sympathized with, or totally evil; he’s maybe just looking for love, or has insatiable desires for conquest. Bigwig is a strong authority figure, but can either be super loyal or a part-time jerk that questions his own leader’s authority. Peach is helpless, or more powerful than she lets on. Hell, Clover took over half of Hyzenthlay’s role in the latest adaptation, and they’re far from the only instance of variable depictions in the series, further depending on the characters that are used. Overall, these changes can make them flexible to develop over time, but it makes them harder to pin down on which role defines them best.

C) And that flexibility also leads to mismatching personalities between the casts of both stories. Because Rosalina first appeared as this quiet, graceful, and yet all powerful entity, we’d picture that side to her, kind of elevating her above the usual human counterparts she’d stand beside, calling into question if she’s even human herself. But she’s later show to have simple joys and pleasures, so she’s not totally detached and above it all. This doesn’t quite equate to any particular character in Watership Down; you could try to make her on par with the Black Rabbit of Inlé, based on powers and ethereal-vibes, but Inlé is too tied with death to be a fair comparison for Rosalina.

Likewise, we have characters from Watership Down known for their stock personality types: Blackberry is the smart one, Strawberry is the big eater, and Hawkbit is the deadpan snarker. None of these particularly hit Mario characters due to their shifts in depictions. Sometimes the big eater is Bowser, sometimes it’s Luigi (yeah). Rosalina seems smart, but Yoshi and Toad have been depicted this way as well. Virtually any one of the Mario cast can fall into sarcasm and dry humor. It’s touch-and-go, but doesn’t give a solid match-up for anyone.

D) Finally, if the mentions above didn’t already make it obvious, then the issue falls to how the casts line up with first themselves, and then one another. The core cast for Mario’s main game franchise tends to fall upon Mario, Peach, Bowser, and typically Luigi to round up the rest, though sometimes he can be left out. Watership Down’s main group would likely be Hazel, Fiver, Bigwig, and General Woundwart. These are more or less the essential characters to have for there to be a story to tell for the franchises.

From there, have fun figuring out who matters and to what level. You can probably safely include higher profile picks for the major characters of each. Mario tends to favor Yoshi, some form of Toad, and generally a rotating female cast member, plus a sidekick villain or a few. Watership Down gets a way better story including the heroism from Hyzenthlay (or a female character that takes on her role for the story), and the undermining plots of whoever gets to be Woundwart’s second-in-command. That could form your secondary main characters.

But it just keeps going from there, and each character is weighted differently. Toad can be an individual and important, but also can get shafted for another more important Toad (Toadette, Toadsworth), or simply suffice as a species, not an individual. Should he be considered main or minor? Dandelion is usually lorekeeper alongside being the fastest, but both of these roles have been divided and distributed to other rabbits (Bluebell and Blackavar respectively), calling into question his prominence. Kehaar tends to always appear, but he can be written around pretty easily. Similarly, Bowser sometimes relies on the Koopalings, but they can also be missing for something close to a decade without the blink of an eye. Who matters, who doesn’t? It depends on the audience, and their interests.

…

Honestly, I even tried breaking it down for the characters on each level, and I had a list spanning past 20 characters on each side. And I wasn’t even including everyone, but just the characters that I felt were important. Trying to mix and match them was even worse, to the point where it really couldn’t be done on a really fitting level.

Going by canon interpretations for both, I think you’ve got, at best:

Mario = Hazel

Luigi = Fiver

Bowser = General Woundwart 

Peach = Hyzenthlay

Yoshi = Bigwig

That’s going by a core cast, with some additions to make sure the major-most of each group gets included. It’s not great either, for several reasons, since Bigwig and Yoshi do not have comparable personalities, but are both strong. Bowser’s also got redeeming qualities to him that actually earn him some sympathy points, whereas Woundwart…well, I think writers have tried, but he’s best as irredeemable and blatantly evil.

Personally, if I were to go maybe one extra level and include Daisy for main cast on the Mario side, I’d fit her to Bigwig, and instead equate Yoshi to Dandelion, as both of the latter two are known for speed, while the former two can be tough, but also caring as well. But I don’t feel that Dandelion and Daisy are as important to their franchises, whereas one could argue a little harder for Yoshi, and Bigwig is easily important to the story.

I even tried going on my fanfic interpretations (of at least the Mario characters) to see if that would line up better, but then that just screws up where the main villain connects. Because, that would instead look like:

Mario/Luigi = Hazel/Fiver

Bowser = Bigwig

Peach? = Hyzenthlay?

??? = General Woundwart

Because, based on how I’ve written them so far, Bowser’s even less of an evil force, and more motivated based on his heart and his people. This makes no one particularly equal to Woundwart. Conversely, Peach is a lot, well…she’s hardened. If one were to go by Hyzenthlay’s depiction in the Netflix miniseries, I’d wager that’s good enough. But this splits who Hyzenthlay is, so the character doesn’t quite feel whole. Oh, and Mario tends to be leader-like, but also has weird powers and visions going on, which helps Luigi step up into his role in his absence, so…they both have shades of Hazel and Fiver’s roles.

Furthermore, I get lost in my own biased interpretations of the fanfic I’m never writing for Watership Down, so that would make going down the rabbit hole a lot more terrifying. Well, for you reading this, anyway; I’d be thrilled to keep it going and gush about personalities in my head for the WD cast, lol.

So, that’s kind of how it goes in my mind. Yes, I’m positive there’s enough flexibility to go down each list and match up characters based on as much as possible for each side of them, or by ignoring some things. Mixing some canons together, you could get:

Mario = Hazel

Luigi = Fiver

Peach = Hyzenthlay

Daisy = Bigwig 

Bowser = General Woundwart

Kamek = Vervain/Orchis/Whoever the schemer to Woundwart is

Yoshi = Kehaar 

Toad = Pipkin/Bluebell

Toadette = Clover

Wario = Strawberry

Waluigi = Cowslip

Bowser Jr = Campion

Rosalina = Dandelion

Here, not only do these feel weirdly off when you look further into those characters, but it doesn’t really cover them properly, nor does it pick the best from the rosters of each. Yoshi’s kind of the foreign type to the core cast, so he connects well enough with Kehaar. This, however, chooses to ignore his famous speed that aligns him best with Dandelion, which instead relates his storytelling to Rosalina, because both tell stories, but that’s where their similarities end. We also choose to ignore Yoshi’s big appetite, which would connect best to Strawberry, putting the much less important Wario up to that role.

Similarly, this also confuses the interpretations on certain Watership Down characters based on how they’re depicted, and then sort of picks a Mario character that might connect. The easier one is Woundwart’s right hand scheming little twerp, which has been both Vervain and Orchis in the tv series and miniseries respectively. They work in a role similar to Kamek, a dutiful but terrified henchman.

It gets worse, though, when we hit something like Pipkin or Bluebell, as the latter was absent from the tv series, the former from the miniseries, and though both have some childish innocence to them, neither personality ends here for either. Toad, when he’s fleshed out as a standalone character, probably could be seen as innocent and childish, but I doubt he’s alone, and also has roles that elevate his mindset, which doesn’t quite make him on that same level.

Not to mention that some just don’t outright fit (Junior to Campion), but going that far along, that’s about all that works out well enough for characters that can be argued for their prominence.

…

Bottom line would be that, while I totally love both franchises and would like to put them on a equal level for comparisons, it doesn’t do either one justice.

All the same, thank you for the interest and the ask! It was fun thinking it over.

[my-river-styx]

A Big Fuck Off Rant Here Lads, Be Warned This Is About Terfs/Radfems As Well As A Bunch Of Political Stuff

I hate that God awful sinking feeling I get in my gut when I end up on a Terf/transphobic persons blog and I just, realise people that are that desperately hateful exist. I found a blog and was going through it, the name making me think they were trans friendly seeming as they had it in their name, only to become rapidly confused and kinda sick when all their posts were outright seethingly angry and hateful towards trans people. Like, the first few I read I thought I was misunderstanding but the further I got I was like, oh, no, they are a Terf/transphobe or align with their ideals.

I don't have a problem with people having opinions, it's your right to think and say what you want. But what I do have a problem with is you putting that vile hateful shit online where kids, trans or otherwise, can see it. To be fair, kids shouldn't be on Tumblr even after the shitty facade of a purge they did to make it child friendly. However, kids ARE on here and they ARE reading your posts and posts like them. It's how conservatives and other far right and even drastically far left groups manage to keep relevance in our lives despite most people disagreeing with them. It's through feeding kids their crap over and over again, sometimes without them realising or wanting to. It happened when I was a kid but luckily my parents aren't nearly conservative and simply hold similar beliefs in some areas. I grew up thinking those hateful things were right, and okay.

Until I opened my fucking eyes and realised they weren't. That you shouldn't feed children your hateful and poisonous rheteric when they don't understand the situations. I, as a little fucking child, genuinely believed that asylum seekers didn't deserve access to our country because they didn't go through legal channels. My parents offloaded their beliefs onto me and for quite a while I didn't even question it. The news/media in Australia didn't help either. But then I grew the fuck up and realised that I was fed a bunch of shit. That what they were saying was bullshit. That the media was trying to shove that shit into my head because it distracted me from them, and the government and what they were doing. It was to give me a fake enemy so I wouldn't see the very real one right under my nose.

Those people, all people, deserve safety and respect unless they are actively causing harm to others.

The problem is a lot of those children grow up not realising those ideas are old, outdated and toxic to change. That they are media crap designed explicitly to keep your eyes away from the blatant corruption of our world and that it is rapidly being killed. And they vote. And have blogs online where they spew their vile crap for newer generations to see. It's why I wish kids weren't allowed on this site. Because a lot of the crap on here is just that, crap. Shit that doesn't actually have a foothold in the real world or if it does, it's so small that it doesn't matter. Terfs and radfems on Tumblr have a huge foothold and use it to attack trans people just trying to live their fucking lives, not hurting anyone. Trans women especially are the victims of this, trans men less so, though it is still a big deal. Terfs and radfems are so concerned with policing who can do what that they don't police themselves.

Their community supposedly stands for women's rights (and by that they mean cis women because God knows they don't know how to be accepting) but as soon as a cis women comes forward supporting Trans women and trans women lesbians, they are instantly shut down, saying they must be an idiot or they are brainwashed. They only support the people who support them. They don't stand for feminism or women's rights, because if they did they would include trans women BECAUSE THEY ARE WOMEN. No, they just want to support their own little bubble and exclude anyone they don't like, just like we are back in fucking highschool with friendship groups and cliques.

For Trans men, if the terfs and radfems don't just outright dismiss them and call them confused women or women trying to escape the patriarchy, they are infantilized. They see us as women. Not as men. I can't force you to accept trans people and even if I could, I wouldn't want to. The fact you are so critical and hateful only speaks volumes about you as a person, about how you either hate yourself or are so drastically narcissistic that you need mental health assistance. Nobody filled with that much anger and hate for people they don't know and who are not doing anything wrong, is happy in their lives. You reek of low self-esteem and self loathing and I feel sorry that your way of dealing with that is to lash out at trans people instead of taking the time to listen to yourself and heal. It's not a way I wouldn't want anyone to live.

In the real world and not tumblr.hell, radfems and terfs have a much smaller voice. It's there, no doubt, and there are some much louder voices and ideas, but they are rightfully ignored for the fact they are just spewing hate. Anyone who does agree with them is normally a conservative, cis and straight. All things that mean they cannot understand the trans experience, let alone the LGBTQ one. Now, there are a lot of radfem/Terf lesbians, who loathe the idea of trans women in their spaces because "they aren't women, they are men just trying to invade our spaces and take them away". No, they aren't. I'm not a trans women, but I do know a lot about the trans experience on the other end as a trans man. Trust me when I say that trans people do not want to steal your space. They are people who want to find support and comfort within a group of people. Trans women can be lesbians because they are women. Trans men can be gay, because they are men. Hell, it was trans women who pioneered the LGBTQ movement, so you wouldn't have the spaces you do today without them. Learn to break free of your biased thoughts and move towards understanding how to be including and accepting. I don't even begin to understand every facet of the LGBTQ community. So many parts of it confuse me. But it's not my place to tell someone they aren't allowed to identify as something. Unless it is genuinely hurting someone, like pedophiles and maps (which newsflash, despite what terfs and radfems want to pretend and scream, trans women aren't. They just want to fucking pee and shit in the toilet for fuck sales).

So, this whole long 3:15 am insomnia ridden post really boils down to, is this. Try and step out of your bubble. Out of the comfort of your preset ideas on people and the lies and garbage fed to you by the media and even your parents in some cases. Try and understand others or at least take the time to listen instead of blindly attacking like a wounded animal. You are not inherently hateful. You deserve the chance to step out of your little cave and learn that the big bad world isn't out to get you. Trans women aren't trying to invade your spaces, or forces lesbians to date them. Trans men aren't trying to escape the patriarchy or are women haters, or trying to change what being gay means. We are real people deserving of respect. We aren't asking for you to bow at our feet. We are asking you to stop attacking us without reason, to stop listening to the horse shit the media throws out to defame and make us look like the villians. Because while your out here attacking innocent trans people, your getting your rights slowly erroded by a government that doesn't give two shits about you. That is purposely force feeding you garbage through the media to make you complacent and distract you from what's going on. Do you think big bussniess, the thing that bloody runs our governments now, gives a shit about you? About what you think? No, they want to make money. Your a number to them. They blatantly pull the strings of all major governments and take away any right you have to object. They are tearing the planet apart to the point 1/7 people will survive.

The planet is dying, rapidly, and if you stopped worrying about us merely existing and instead turned your attention to the real problems, we could do so much more to fight for our rights.

Your very lively hood, the thing you so vehemently fight for is not only on the line, it's at stake. They are trying to kill us, and your bitching online that a trans women went into the female bathroom to pee like a goddamn human being.

Get your priorities straight.